


a softer touch

by grumblebee_dani



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Canon Related, F/M, Fluff, Non-Graphic Violence, References to Canon, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:21:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23293912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumblebee_dani/pseuds/grumblebee_dani
Summary: Wade Wilson has tried almost everything to cure himself of the pain of his mutation. Finally at the end of his rope, he hears about a "spiritual healer" visiting town and decides to give it a shot.
Relationships: Francis "Ajax" Freeman/Original Female Character(s), Wade Wilson/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. every story starts with Chapter One

As part of his daily routine, Wade took inventory of all his guns, ammo, and limbs once he entered the apartment he shared with Al. Swearing under his breath, he only counted nine fingers, and the missing digit wasn't even a middle one.

“You need to rethink your definition of whispering, Wade.”

“Not my fault you have crazy good hearing, Al.” He continued going through his things without looking over to where she was seated on the sofa. “Besides, the silence ain’t gonna fill itself.”

Things had been quiet recently, but that only put him more on edge. Not as many jobs meant skimping on groceries to pay rent. And knowing Wade, quiet was not something he was comfortable with in _any_ sense. All he could do was keep an eye out for offers and spend some quality time with his stuffed unicorn. Damn, that thing was comforting. Unfortunately, no amount of joking with his elderly roomie or masturbating in the room next door would fix his burning skin or the death rattle that always ripped its way out of his throat after a night of fever and coughing. It was no way to live, but there he was.

Changed into civvies, he thanked the cold weather and put on some gloves to hide his stub of a finger that was already starting to grow back.

“You need anything while I’m out? Hip new pair of sunglasses? Carton of milk?”

“I’m fine, Wade. Keep the bad decisions to a minimum for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He didn’t know where he was going or why, but the fresh air felt nice without his mask on. Wade walked to a nearby bodega for some chips and a beer, then just kept going until he felt like sitting down on a park bench. It was a nice day, slowly shifting into the night with a bright display of color on the horizon. At least cancer couldn’t ruin sunsets for him.

His phone buzzed with a message from Weasel. _“Out moping?”_

_“How did you know?”_

_“That’s always what you’re doing when you don’t come by after a job.”_

There’s a destination: Sister Margaret's.

Weasel was behind the bar as usual, and there were plenty of people hanging around the place making bets and getting into loud arguments. Diligently wiping the counter, he didn’t notice Wade until he sat down in front of him.

“Jesus, man, you scared me.”

“Sorry, it’s not like I can turn this shit off.” He gestured toward his mangled face.

“C’mon, you know I didn’t mean it like that.” He resumed cleaning without turning away. “What were you blowing out of proportion this time? Bad fajita? Al burped and didn’t say excuse me?”

“Nah, nothing like that. Just...I don’t know.” Weasel waited for him to continue, which he reluctantly obliged. “I’m getting pretty tired of people being afraid of my messed up face. I can’t even count how many soccer moms have pulled their kids away from me like I’m on the five o’clock news for being a terrorist.”

“I know it sucks, man. Maybe you can go get one of those face masks those weeb kids wear.”

Wade picked up the drink that had been placed before him, his mood only slightly lifted. He hadn’t even seen his friend make it, but there was no one else at the bar to give it to. “That’ll just give 'em a different reason to stare.”

“Have you looked for any doctors or anything that might help?”

“You think I should? They would probably just wrap me in bandages and stick me in a hospital bed for the rest of my life.”

“You can always say no if they give you options you don’t like.”

“True.” Wade finished off his drink and handed the glass to Weasel, who set it in the sink. “I’ll look into it.”

“Good to hear, my friend. I’m looking forward to you not being such a sourpuss.”

“Did you just say sourpuss? Who are you, my grandma?”

Weasel shrugged. “I stand by my choice of words. Now go get some sleep before you pass out and I have to pay off one of these guys to carry you home.”

“Nice talking to you, too.”


	2. Wade can have a little hope, as a treat

The search results for “how to heal skin” turned up little more than acne treatments and websites for typical dermatologists who probably wouldn’t be able to do much for Wade. Al’s advice on the matter was to stop being such a whiny bitch and not worry about what other people thought, which was just as unhelpful. After scanning through o after o of the Google logo at the bottom of the screen, he was about to give up hope when he saw a link to a spiritual healer named Maya Eldridge. He had noticed a few of these types already, but they hadn’t inspired much confidence in their work. The movement had become a routine, though, so he clicked on the link anyway.

_Maya Eldridge, spiritual healer with real results. Click below to see examples of clients before and after treatment._

None of the other websites had photo evidence, but otherwise this one seemed similar to the rest. He clicked on the folder and couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scars, burns, and x-rays of internal damage that were wiped away in the after images. Granted, photos were easily doctored, but Wade wanted so badly to believe in this woman’s ability that he let himself have a moment of faith.

_Maya has traveled the world with her manager, Ted Klein, to bring healing and hope to anyone willing to receive it._

He could certainly use some of that.

Underneath, pictures of Maya and Ted smiled out of the screen from all kinds of exotic places from small towns, to crowded cities, to the middle of absolutely nowhere. The manager looked like any average American guy, but Maya had bright red hair and freckles like constellations that covered every inch of visible skin. She beamed at the camera, clearly excited to be wherever she was. Seeing how beautiful and happy she was made Wade’s eyes sting with the thought of how Vanessa used to smile at him like that.

Closing his laptop before he could cry, he sucked in deep breaths and let them out slowly until he felt okay again. Chancing one last look at the screen, he wrote down the phone number and location of Maya’s next venue. Even if she was a fraud, at least he would have tried.

Luckily, the venue wasn’t too far from NYC, so Wade packed light and told Al and Weasel to only worry if he wasn’t back in two days. The trip to Buffalo was uneventful, but that didn’t stop him from building up enough nervous energy to power an apartment complex. With some bribing, Dopinder agreed to drive him to and from the gathering where he might finally have some release from his private hell. He tried to keep the conversation with his friend light and airy, but Dopinder could tell something was amiss.

“You do not seem so good, Mr. Pool. Is this mission very dangerous?”

Wade hadn’t worn his suit, but he did sit in the backseat and wear a hoodie so as not to completely terrify Dopinder and anyone else who might see him. “No, my dear chauffeur, I am not. But this is not a typical work trip either. We are on our way to the great city of hot wings and a mediocre football team so that I can see a woman with magical healing powers.”

Dopinder let that hang in the air while he attempted to come up with a response. “Ah...that is good, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. If this lady is legit, then I might finally be rid of this wasps’ nest of a face once and for all.”

“That sounds very good, Mr. Pool.” His meek optimism never failed to brighten Wade’s mood.

“When we get there, I’ll make sure you have a place to stay for the night because I’m not sure how long this process will take. Hopefully, that will take care of my outstanding debt, right best buddy?”

“Wait, you are actually going to pay?”

Wade couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t sound so surprised, what are bffs for?”

“I appreciate that very much, thank you Mr. Pool.”

“Please, call me Wade.” He stretched out in the backseat to get some circulation back into his legs after so long in the car.

“Okay then, thank you Wade.”

He frowned. “Nevermind, it sounds weird.”

The rest of the trip was just as boring, but when Wade stepped out of the car to see a parking lot filled with people, his heart jumped into his throat. Fumbling in his pockets, he tossed Dopinder some cash and told him to wait for a call before he started walking uneasily toward the crowd, which was really a ridiculously long line leading to a large tent at the back of the lot.

It wasn’t until he had exhausted every worry ten times over in his mind that Wade realized how excruciatingly dull it was to take a few steps forward every five minutes or so. With no way to entertain himself that didn’t run down the battery in the phone he needed to call Dopinder later, he resigned himself to people watching.

_**Do you think he knows his shoe is untied?** _

**No, someone should definitely tell him.**

Great, the voices were back. Ever since his transformation into the Monster at the End of This Book, Wade had been accompanied every so often by two nagging voices. They only showed up when his brain wasn’t otherwise occupied, but good god were they annoying.

_“Would you two shut up?”_

_**Oh, so he does talk back! How kind of you to join in.** _

**We were beginning to think you didn’t like us.**

_“That’s because I don’t.”_

It had taken some time before he could consistently respond to them without speaking out loud, but the frustration was worth not looking even crazier to passersby. This line was going to kill him even if he just came back a minute later.

**Now that’s just rude.**

_“Exactly, now shut up and leave me alone.”_

**_But you would be so bored without us!_ **

_“I don’t care.”_

**Sounds like somebody didn’t stick to his bedtime.**

_**Come on, we patronize him enough. But you really should go to bed before four in the morning, Wade. It isn’t healthy for any of us.** _

_“I’ll keep that in mind.”_

**Ha! Good one!**

The distance to the tent had decreased, but there were still so many people between him and Maya that he couldn’t help but groan.

**Buck up, Wade! Compared to that drive, this is nothing.**

_“You’re not really helping.”_

The rest of the wait was the same, but when he finally saw her across the tent, Wade froze. There was no way he could show her his hideous face. Not to mention all the other people around them that would see as well. Swallowing hard, he stepped out of line and practically ran to the port-a-potty nearby. Locking himself inside, the stench was pleasant compared to the shame and disgust he felt toward himself.

_**What was that?!** _

**Don’t make this worse, he’s having a hard enough time already.**

_“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”_

**Now, now. She hasn’t left yet. Just wait here until you feel better and then go talk to the manager guy.**

_**Wait? In the port-a-potty? I don’t think so. You go in there and talk to one of them before you puke.** _

It was tempting to stay where he was and wait for everyone else to leave so he could talk to her without prying eyes, but the smell really was making his stomach churn. After a few moments of conflicted hesitation, he exited the potty and stood off to the side, trying to spot the manager. The young, well-kept man was typing away on a laptop in a folding chair near Maya. Walking with false confidence, Wade approached the man and waved him off to the side.

“Hi - Ted Klein. I’m Maya’s manager. How can I help you?”

“I've got a problem here, Ted. I need to see Maya, but I don’t want anyone seeing my, uh...injuries.”

Ted’s expression grew thoughtful. “I really need to make it more clear on the website, but we do offer private sessions if you call ahead of time to schedule.”

Wade silently cursed himself for not reading the entire page. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“If you want, you can wait here until her break and then speak to her about an appointment, or you can go ahead and schedule with me. It’s not as easy for me to judge how long a session would take based on the injuries, but I do know what time she has free this week.”

“I really don’t know, man.” He glanced at Maya, who was gliding her hands across an old woman’s face, allowing scars to fade away into the wrinkled skin. “I...I think I’d rather talk to her.”

Ted nodded and waved him over to an empty folding chair.

It was awkward sitting by himself in the corner while people were treated, and the voices only made it worse. He could only imagine what kind of faces he was pulling in response to their jabbering.

_**See? Not so bad, was it?** _

**You know what I think?**

_“I’d rather not.”_

**I think you just want to see her up close, even if that means waiting for however long this is gonna take. You think she’s cute and you want her to touch your face and make it all better.**

_“Is there a problem with that?”_

The voices were suspiciously silent after that. Half an hour later, Ted called him over to where he and Maya were walking behind the tent for some privacy during her break.

“Hi, I’m Maya. Ted was just telling me about a private session, is that something you’re interested in?”

She was even more beautiful up close. Her hair was pulled away from her face, but a few strands had fallen free. Everything about her just seemed soft.

“Uh, yeah. I am.”

“Okay, well let’s see what we’re working with so I can set aside enough time.”

He had been keeping his face turned to the ground for the most part to avoid stares, so looking her in the eye felt uncomfortably intimate. He pulled off his hood and braced himself for shock and pity. “It’s like this all over.”

Maya frowned, taking one of his hands. “Can I take off your glove?”

Wade nodded, speechless at how gentle her movements were. She put the glove into his other hand and turned the first over, running her fingertips along the rough skin.

“I can’t heal everything in one go, obviously. We’ll have to take things slow and make sure not to shock your system. How does Friday sound for the first session? I have the whole day off and we can see how things go before making another appointment.”

He couldn’t speak, not to her or Ted or anybody. It took a groan from his voices for him to snap back to reality and agree to her terms. “Sounds great.”

She smiled at him. Him. Wade Wilson, the botched science project. The circus freak.

“Are you from the area?”

“New York City.”

“Oh, perfect. I actually live right near there. This is the last stop on this year’s tour before I take some time off. If we move it back to Saturday, you can just come to my studio instead of sweating in a tent.”

He nodded, acutely aware of the fact that she was still holding his hand.

Maya had apparently not forgotten either. “How does it feel? People tell me different things.”

“Like it’s been dipped in cool water and aloe.”

“That does sound nice. I’ll see you on Saturday, Wade.” She let go and the pain he always felt underneath his skin was back and worse than ever.

Ted pulled out his phone. “If you give me your number, I’ll text you the address and time.”

“Sure.”

He assured him that the number he was using was for the company, and was not his private number. “You’d be surprised how many people think they can just strike up a conversation with whoever gave them the number just to realize the other one of us answered.”

Wade stuffed his hand back into the glove and resolved to buy some aloe vera gel on his way to a motel without listening to a word Ted was saying. He also needed to call Dopinder at some point.


	3. no way in Hellhouse

After a night with his hand in a bowl of cool water and aloe like he was playing a bedwetting prank on himself, Wade woke up wishing it was Saturday. The ride back to NYC was just as externally boring and internally tumultuous. After another purchase of aloe vera gel, (many more bottles this time,) he went to Sister Margaret’s to see Weasel.

“Back already? How was it?” The morning crowd was always smaller and far more quiet than in the evening.

“You know how you didn’t believe me when I said I was going to see a spiritual healer?”

“I recall.”

“Well it turns out she’s the real deal and if Xavier ever finds out about her she’s definitely going to be kidnapped by the X-Men and locked in their basement because I saw her heal people. Really heal them.”

“Like kissing a boo-boo or strapping them to a machine kind of shit?”

“Like she made scars disappear and cured ulcers and whatever the fuck else. She held my hand for less than a minute and I’ve been stocking up on aloe vera to try and recreate the feeling because it was the only relief I’ve had since I got turned into walking, talking minced meat.”

“That’s insane.” His tone was just as dry as ever, but Wade could tell he was impressed.

“I’m seeing her again on Saturday.”

“The way you said that makes it sound like you’re going on a second date.” Again, just as dry.

“Not a chance.”

Weasel stopped wiping glasses and looked him square in the eye. “Because you don’t want to go on dates or you think you shouldn’t?”

His gaze wasn’t harsh, but it was far too heavy for Wade to evade.

“Not until I’m over Vanessa.” His voice was a whisper, but it was still hard to say.

“She would want you to be happy, dude. And it’s not like you’re ever really gonna be over her. You just gotta move on the best you can and set those feelings aside for when you have the space to really deal with them.”

“Since when are you a therapist?”

“Since I started seeing one a while back. It’s great, I gotta tell ya. I just word vomit at this lady who looks like she’d be friends with my mom and she helps me sort through my shit.”

He stared down into his drink. “I’ll think about it.”

Weasel raised an eyebrow and gave him a refill. “Well, tell me about this healer chick. You know anything about her other than what you already told me?”

“Not really. The name reminded me of someone though. I didn’t think of it until this morning, but I think there was a Maya who worked with that other dispatch.”

“Hellhouse? Yeah, that sounds familiar. That place hasn’t been open for a while now, maybe she got a new job.”

“No way. The Maya I met is the opposite of a mercenary. Besides, it seems like she’s been doing this for a long time, so I doubt she was travelling around as a spiritual healer while taking hits on the side.”

“You’re probably right.”


	4. guess again

Ten Years Earlier

“How can you eat with a dead body laying there?” Ted grimaced as Maya crunched her Frosted Flakes.

“...It’s not like we can share.” At least she had the decency to look sheepish about it.

He sighed and peeked around the curtain to see if the car had arrived yet. Maya had been kidnapped and held hostage for the third time, and it was really getting old. It seemed like every group of people who might kidnap a woman with healing powers had somehow found out about her at the same time. She had been with the dispatch for a while, and this hadn’t happened for the first few years, but now things were changing.

“Hey Teddy Bear, you think they forgot about us again?”

He knew he should have cut contact after high school. “Don’t call me that, Maya.”

“Well it’s not like your mom is here to do it, Mr. Grumpy Pants. Let’s just take your car.”

“And have the one called for us get here to find us missing? Yeah, sure, let’s just cause Hodge to have another heart attack, why don’t we?”

Maya made a face at him and set her empty bowl in the sink. She had been taken to a small house that had been sitting empty for years. There were plenty of other properties around it, but they had all been built later and made the 70’s style home look out of place. The HOA surely wanted the city to tear it down, but nothing had been done. She had been attacked on the way home from work and dragged to the house by a group of people who now lay dead on the floor. Ted had been waiting at her apartment for an hour when he decided to track her phone and found her alive and well with a gun in her hand and a triumphant smile on her face.

Although Ted had driven there in his own car, when he called in to report the situation to their superior, Hodge had insisted on taking them back to the dispatch himself to hear everything face to face as soon as possible. Unfortunately, his version of soon did not always match everyone else’s.

A honk from outside, and the two of them walked outside with the demeanor of two friends who had never seen a murder that wasn’t on a television screen. Calm and collected, there was no indication of what lay just inside the house behind them.

Back at the dispatch, a few other patrons were drinking and laughing when the three of them entered.

Gomez, a larger man with prison tattoos covering almost every inch of his body, called out to them. “Hey you two, how was your date?”

Maya rolled her eyes and sat down at an empty table. “Oh please, he’s practically my brother.”

Another woman, who called herself Jewel, took the seat across from her. “And it’s not like he would be interested anyway.”

Ted sighed and joined them. “Am I really that obvious?”

“My dear, you are a pink glittery blip on the most heteronormative gaydar in existence. You couldn’t act straight if you tried.”

That earned some laughs, though none were mean-spirited. Everyone knew each other, and just because someone didn’t say something like that out loud, they all knew and didn’t care. You would have to be a nazi or a pedophile for these people to hate you.

There was a sign on the wall that someone had written on a piece of notebook paper and framed that read: This Hellhouse is Our Hellhome. Beneath it was a sticky note that said "live, laugh, love," but it was a little harder to see.

Maya and Ted had joined the dispatch after high school, as neither had been able to find a path that could provide any purpose. They had each had their turn with depressed soul-searching, and decided as lifelong friends to do something together that might actually help people. Mercenary work was not their first choice, but it was an available option, and it allowed for some release of righteous indignation. They got to choose which jobs to take, and so innocent victims were off the table.

Ted was a great guy to bring with you as backup, as he worked well with others but didn’t have much drive to be a leader. Maya typically hung back to heal the other mercs, but she could hold her own just fine. It was a strange life, but they both enjoyed it in their own ways.

They had heard of Sister Margaret’s, and even ran into a few of the mercenaries who worked there, but never in a personal way. They had definitely never heard of or seen a guy named Wade Wilson, or even Deadpool for that matter.


	5. open up!

Back in the present, Wade spent all of Friday night tossing and turning, thinking about his appointment with Maya the next day. The voices provided incessant commentary that didn’t help the situation at all, and eventually he decided to get up and work out to occupy his mind. Not wanting to wake Al, he went out for a run. 10:00 a.m. was a long way away.

After a shower and a change of clothes, he forced himself to do some chores to keep the voices at bay for as long as he could. They had piped up again halfway through the run, but he shouted all he could remember of a Boy George song in his head until they left him alone.

Dishes and laundry done, bedroom and living room picked up, there was nothing left for him to do and it was only 8:45. Al wasn’t even awake yet. Wade checked to see how long it would take him to get to Maya’s place, even though he knew it was half an hour. Too restless to sit around for any longer, he walked to the subway station and nearly missed the line that would take him to the stop nearest to her.

Not in a part of New York that he was too familiar with, he wandered around until 9:45, when he pulled up Google Maps to actually get to his destination.

Just after 10:00, he knocked on Maya’s door to have it open almost immediately. Expecting an office, he was surprised to see that he had been invited to her house.

“Hi Wade! Come on in, I just made coffee if you want some.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

She led him through the living room to the kitchen, where she poured herself a cup, then into a sunroom. Everything was very sleek and modern, a stark contrast to his apartment.

Noticing the way he was looking around, Maya said, “The more white I have in my home, the more sunlight is reflected onto my skin - which is helpful, but not very fun to live in. That’s why I tried to add some other color here and there, so I wouldn’t feel like a hospital patient in my own home.”

He took a seat on the massage table in the middle of the room. There was a solid wall connecting the sunroom to the house, but everything else was floor to ceiling windows.

“I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but my powers are fueled by sunlight. I’m not really sure how it works, but if I overexert myself without taking time to recharge in the sun, I feel terrible.”

Wade stared at the floor, thinking he probably should have taken off his shoes when he came in. “When did it start?”

She had her back turned to set things up the way she wanted, but she spoke to him with ease. “Oh I was born with it. I didn’t realize what I could do until I was around eight, but I’ve always been able to heal people.” She flashed a smile over her shoulder at him. “Hope you don’t have anything against mutants.”

“Never! Some of my best friends are mutants.” His voice held mock sincerity, but Maya could tell he actually meant it.

“That’s good to hear Mr. Wilson. I wouldn’t want you to have come all the way out here to be disgusted by my mutie germs getting all over you.”

He thought of the way it felt to have her hand in his and resolved to get rid of anyone who thought someone like Maya could be disgusting. “If anybody reacts like that, you give me their names.”

She turned toward him and smiled. “I can handle myself, Wade. But thank you.”

He pulled off his hood and rolled up his sleeves to grant her access to his scarred skin. “I mean it.”

“I know you do.” She scanned her eyes over him, thinking. “Would you take your jacket off for me? The energy flows outwards, but it’s best if I can reach as much as possible with my hands.”

He nodded and did as he was told. “You want me sitting up or lying down?”

“Whatever is more comfortable for you. I might ask you to move later, but it doesn’t matter right now.”

She was appraising every inch of visible skin, but not in the way that most might. Maya was a healer, not a stranger who caught a glimpse of his ruined face under his hood. She took his hand in hers like before, letting the energy sink into his palm before running her fingers up and down his forearm.

“This goes deep, I can tell. I want you to leave here today with as little pain as I can manage, so I’ll try to address your whole body instead of focusing on doing more to just one part. Sound good?”

He nodded, unable to focus on anything except the sensation of relief. The voices were nowhere to be heard, and the restlessness of the morning had faded into the comfort of her hands on his skin.

Unable to keep the thought in his head, he mumbled, “Where the fuck have you been all this time?”

Maya laughed and started pressing her fingertips into his shoulder, moving behind him to reach better. “Well, I've lived in New York all my life, and I never really stuck with anything until I started focusing on healing. Worked for a few years before I decided to go back to school. Got my degree in massage therapy and did that until people started freaking out about me being a mutant. Then I started my own practice as a spiritual healer with Ted, which was his idea. Religion makes weirdness easier to swallow, apparently.”

“I guess.” She was pressing harder now, working out knots he had no idea were there underneath the constant surface level of pain.

“Let me know if you’re uncomfortable, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” She must have seen him wince.

“You know, I’ve never seen injuries like this. Closest is third degree burns, but it’s still not the same. Mind if I ask what happened?”

“Well, let’s just say I was not born with my...abilities.”

Maya let that hang in the air for a moment. “So you’re a mutant too.”

“No idea. It’s not hereditary or natural or anything, I was forced into it. That’s why I’m all messed up.”

She moved her hands to his neck, then to his head. Wade could have fallen asleep right there if not for the conversation.

“What are your abilities?”

He sighed, trying to list them out in his head before answering. “I heal fast and grow back anything that’s taken off, so I can’t really die either. Better strength and reflexes...and I guess it _technically_ got rid of my cancer, so I doubt I could get sick with anything else.”

Maya hummed in thought. “Sounds like a mutant to me.”

The rest of the session was much the same. She rubbed his arms, head, back, and legs with her magic fingers. He tried not to scare her with personal details. By the time they were finished, Wade felt like he might float from the weight that had been lifted from him. The loss of touch was awful, but he didn’t want to become dependent on it. It was easy to see how someone like him could get addicted to healing like hers.

After seeing him to the door, Maya called out to him. “See you again next week!”

“What?” He was halfway down the driveway and knew full well that he hadn’t scheduled another appointment.

“Aren’t you coming back? We’re not anywhere near done.” He couldn’t think of a good reply with the way she was looking at him with those puppy dog eyes. “You won’t regret it, Wade.”

He sighed and threw up his hands. “Just because I don’t know how to argue with you doesn’t mean you’re right, by the way.”

“I’ll see you next Saturday!”

At least it wasn’t morphine or cocaine he was agreeing to go back to.


	6. feelings suck ass

Head down on the table, Wade groaned as he went another round with Weasel on the pros and cons of seeing Maya again. “I told you man, I can’t go back there.”

“And all of your reasons were stupid, so I don’t care what you think. You need the healing, and being touched by a pretty lady does. Not. Hurt.” He punctuated each of the least three words with a jab at Wade’s arm.

Raising his head, he frowned at his arm that still rested on the table and at Weasel. “If I see her again, I’m toast, done-zo, reduced to a pile of steaming shit with a dependency problem.” He sighed and knocked back the rest of his drink. “Every time I see her, I just...I don’t know.”

“Want to touch her for once?”

“No!”

“Make her pancakes and call her sweetheart?”

“No.”

“Tell her you can’t live without her and recite Pablo Neruda’s poetry until she swoons into your arms?”

“Uh...that’s a little closer. Less Neruda, more orphan in a Dickens book begging for another scrap of bread, though.”

Weasel leaned back in his chair and sized up his pitiful friend. “Damn, dude.”

“I know.”

They sat in heavy silence until Wade managed to fumble out a feeling or two. “I can’t do it, man. I can’t get attached to her and…” His throat felt like there was a hand squeezing out every breath. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

Weasel could see the tears welling up in his eyes and passed him a napkin. “So you’re just gonna be alone and miserable forever?”

Wade let his head fall onto his arm, turning his face to wipe away the tears, but also to disagree. “I don’t want any of this.”

“I know.” His voice was softer than Wade had ever heard it. “But no one gets to choose what happens - to ourselves or anyone else. You really like this girl, and it sounds like she’s alright with you too. I think you should go to the next session even if you think it’s a bad idea.”

Wade grumbled into his sleeve and looked up again, eyes red and cheeks blotchy. “No. No, I can’t. I-I gotta take some time off...to think.”

Weasel frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m gonna find some work and just stick to that for a while.” The chair squeaked on the hardwood as he stood and left the bar.


	7. feelings suck ass even more

Fortunately, the demand for merc work had spiked since the last time Wade had looked for a job. Offers pouring in, all he had to do was execute and deliver. One after another, they piled up until he could hardly remember who he had killed and on what day.

It was getting to be a pain to have to wash the blood out of his suit over and over again, so he took a day off to slow down and take a breather. Of course, no such thing existed for a man such as himself, as he was awoken by a phone call. Surprisingly, the name of Maya’s company appeared on the screen, though he had missed his appointment by almost a week by then.

“Hello?”

The grogginess in his voice must have been obvious, since Maya’s first response was a soft laugh. “Sorry for waking you up, sleepyhead.”

“What is it? Am I in trouble?”

“Maybe...if you don’t have a good reason for blowing me off on Saturday.”

Wade turned and groaned into his pillow. “I had to work.”

“And you couldn’t call or email me to say this beforehand?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, bed creaking as he sat up. “Sorry, it just slipped my mind. Didn’t mean any harm by it.”

Her voice was soft as silk, flowing out of the receiver into his scarred ear. “I know, Wade.” God, he loved the way she said his name. “I was just worried about you, that’s all.”

She was worried. About him. She thought about him enough to worry.

“I really am sorry.” At least, he was after hearing that. “Do you still want me to come in?”

Dammit. Sucked in again.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated, but you seemed to enjoy the last session, so I thought you might want to at some point.”

“Yeah...Saturday at 10?”

“Yep. I’ll see you then, Wade.” She had to stop saying his name so sweetly or else he was going to hate himself even more.

There were plenty of jobs to fill the time between then and Saturday, but he just couldn’t bring himself to take them. Everything stopped until he could see her again.

When the day finally came, he knocked on Maya’s door two minutes after ten. He had gotten there almost fifteen minutes earlier, but felt weird knocking before ten, so he wandered around like a Neighborhood Watch’s first suspect until he couldn’t take it anymore.

Smiling bright as ever, she opened the door and ushered him into the sunroom. “Has the pain worsened at all since I last saw you?”

“It felt like it for a while, but I think it was just the loss of relief that made it so bad.”

She hummed in agreement and waited for him to take off his jacket before running her palms along his arms. “I know it’s up to you, but I would really like it if you would try and come at least once a week. I have plenty of other clients to pay the rent, and so I won’t ask you to run yourself dry coming here.”

Wade’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. “What, you don’t want me to pay you? No, no, I can’t do that.”

She smiled and kept working on his arms and shoulders. “How about we compromise with a reduced fee? You come see me regularly and pay half.”

“Fine, but that’s hardly a fair compromise.”

“You agreed to it, didn’t you?” That honeyed smile had been replaced with a sly smirk.

He sighed, unable to argue.

The next twenty minutes were spent healing and listening to the birds outside. The house backed up into a dense thicket of trees that shielded the sunroom from any prying eyes, and there was plenty of wildlife in there to cause a minor racket.

Breaking the comfortable silence, Maya asked Wade to remove his shirt and lay down on his stomach so she could reach his back. “Still comfy?”

“Snug as a bug in a rug.”

She chuckled at the way his voice distorted from his face being squished by the massage table. “Glad to hear it.”

She let a moment pass before speaking again. “Wade...you said before that you were made into a mutant, but I’ve never heard of that before. Would you tell me what happened?” Feeling him tense, she rushed to add on, “Only if you want to, of course!”

Sighing into the table, he was so relaxed that she could have asked him for his credit card number and he might have given it. “Got cancer, signed up to be a part of a shady program, got tortured into having my cells mutate.”

Though he had spoken with a degree of apathy, Maya froze. Her hands still sent healing energy into his back, but they no longer moved across his patchwork skin. “You were...tortured?”

Hearing how quiet and small her voice was, Wade turned and sat up, taking her hands in his. There was no thought behind his movements, his body could do nothing else. He needed to comfort her, though it was his trauma being shared.

“Yeah...I was just gonna let things run their course but I-” He stopped abruptly, almost saying her name. How he had left her to make things better, and had only made them so much worse.

Maya released her hands from his loose grip and brought them up to cradle his face. “You don’t have to keep going...but it’s okay. I can listen.”

There was nothing he wanted or hated more. This was the third time Wade had even seen her face to face, but in an ideal world, he would pull her closer and tell her every horrible thing that had ever happened to him. Just looking her in the eye made him come loose at the seams.

With a few shaky breaths, he allowed himself to continue. “There was someone I loved...her name was Vanessa.” He had to stop before he could start again. “We were together when I got diagnosed, and I didn’t want her to see me suffer and eventually die, so I left. It was a dick move, but it felt like the only option.”

Maya guided his head to rest on her shoulder and hugged him close.

“I found out about a program that could help people with rare and dangerous diseases, so I signed up. Didn’t know a thing about them, but it was a chance at a life with her, so I took it.” Tears had begun to roll down his cheeks, soaking into the fabric of Maya’s shirt. “They didn’t really want to help anyone...it was a supersoldier factory that forced latent mutant genes to the surface. It-it took a lot to get me to show any mutations.”

She rubbed circles into his still bare back, wishing she could press a comforting kiss to his temple.

“They made me look like this…” He took a shuddering breath. “I stayed away from Vanessa for a long time just so I wouldn’t scare her off. I let her believe I was dead. I-I still kind of hate myself for that.” He breathed the words out in a hollow laugh. “I got her back eventually, but I still look and feel like shit. Didn’t help that she died pretty soon after that.”

Maya sucked in a sharp breath and pulled him in even tighter. They stayed together that way for what felt like a long time, breaking apart so that she could wipe away both of their tears and search for something in his eyes.

“You didn’t deserve any of that, Wade.” The words came out in a whisper, but he heard them plainly.

“Then why did it happen?”

“I don’t know. I can’t answer something like that, but there is nothing that could make me believe that you deserved any of that pain.”

He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed at the cool aloe sensation on his skin. “I think I might prove you wrong there.”

She turned her head to touch the tips of their noses together. “How so?”

“I’m not exactly the nicest guy around…” She waited for him to continue, and feeling backed into a corner, he did. “I...I’m kind of a hitman for hire. I hurt people and get paid to do it. Nobody’s calling me Boy Scout, ya know?”

She had the audacity to laugh. Bringing her face away to look at him properly, that smile was back in full effect. “Seriously? That’s supposed to scare me away?” She rolled her eyes and moved her hands to his shoulders to rub them as she had done before the talk had turned so solemn.

“Are you saying it doesn’t?” Wade couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Honey, I’ve done my fair share of misdeeds, believe me. A little mercenary work isn’t going to send me running. And to what you were saying before, I know you don’t deserve your pain because I know what it’s like to do everything you can to save your loved ones and be forced to watch it all fall apart. I know what it’s like to not be able to look in a mirror because you can’t stand the sight of yourself.” She let her hands slide down to his chest and rested them there. “It gets better. I promise you, it does. No matter how shitty you feel in this moment, it’s in the past in a second. And with each second, you are moving forward to a better future.”

Wade sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “How come everyone I know is turning into a psychiatric genius all of a sudden?”

She could have kissed him right then and there, but managed to play off the way she had subconsciously leaned forward as a move to rub the back of his head. “You tell me, smart guy.”


	8. it only goes so far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle up folks, this is a really sad one. if you don't do well with tragic death, you might wanna skip this one.

Twelve Years Ago

“Wh-what are you doing here?” The words gurgled out of the man’s throat as blood spilled from his lips.

“Shh, it’s alright, Winslow. I’m just here to make sure you don’t die a ridiculous death.” Her smile hid the fear that coursed through her body as she held his head with one hand and stuck the other out to reach the small patch of sunlight nearby.

Winslow was a mercenary that came through the dispatch once and a while, and Maya had always liked his easy-going nature. She had received a call from Hodge that a merc had been attacked by a bunch of street kids after he tried to get through their turf with an exposed firearm. Gang wars were nothing to mess around with, even if the kids could be your little brother or sister’s age.

“Ah, I’ll be fine.” More choking, more blood. Maya took her hand away from the sun to press more healing into his skin. “Just some rugrats with hunting knives, that’s all.” He tried to laugh, but it only made things worse.

Even with all the power she could muster, there was nothing she could do to stop the light from going out of his eyes.

Ten Years Ago

Alleyways always had dead ends. It was a cliche to get cornered in one with little to no chance of surviving the encounter, but there they were.

Maya gripped the gun in her hand. “I thought you said we were safe after we got out of there!”

Mel laughed under her breath. “No, I said we were _safer_ , not safe.”

The guards were closing in fast, and there would only be seconds until the two were completely surrounded. The older woman cracked the joints in her neck and grabbed Maya’s hand, leading her to the dumpsters along the back wall of the alley.

“Go.”

Maya obeyed, only because she knew there was no fighting about this. She climbed the dumpsters and pushed herself over the wall onto a low roof, hiding for just a moment to witness the sacrifice Mel was about to make. To honor her last moments before getting the hell out of there.

The guards turned the corner, seemingly satisfied to find at least one of the escapees trapped there. They raised their guns and Maya watched in horror, but her gaze was not on them, but on Mel. She didn’t speak, didn’t make a sound, but the look in her eyes gave away exactly what was about to happen. The guns fired, and Maya fled.

Eight Years Ago

Humming a lullaby, Maya cradled her little boy in her arms, wishing that her healing could reach the sickness deep within him. Tears fell down her cheeks as she remembered the way he had sung with her before bed just a few weeks prior.

Adam wiped them away, though his eyes were just as wet. “It’s okay, Jakey, just go to sleep.”

He was saying it more for her, she knew, but their son was the one who needed to hear soothing words right then. The doctors still didn’t know what was wrong, why Jacob had succumbed so quickly out of the blue. It felt like all they could do was wait for the pain to be over.

Maya hummed for as long as she could until her voice broke. Handing him to Adam, she covered her mouth and left the room to sob in the hallway. She didn’t want him to hear how scared she was.

Two years, that was all she and her boyfriend had with their son. Two years of first steps, tantrums, and colorful scribbles with valiant attempts at signing his name. Their sweet little Jakey, their happy accident that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to them. Two years, and that was it. No third birthday, no fourth, fifth, or sixth. No first day of school. No learning how to ride a bike. No first date. No high school graduation or acceptance into college. Two years, that’s all they got.

Little Jakey could not hear his mother crying just outside the door, but Adam did. He could hear the way her sobs wracked her body and took her to her knees on the cold wood. He could feel the way his son’s body went absolutely still in his arms as he listened to her.

Maya and Adam managed to hold each other together until the funeral was over, and then got as far away from each other and those memories as possible.


	9. oops, my heart went oops!

It was much easier convincing himself to go to the next appointment. Maya was always happy to see him, but this time there was something more in the way she looked at him. Maybe it was because she didn’t have to worry so much this time. Whatever the cause might have been, Wade enjoyed making her smile and laugh as she soothed the pain under his skin. There hadn’t been much in the way of lasting results yet, but it was enough for him just to have any form of relief. 

Her touches had changed too - somehow even more soft and tender, which he didn’t think was possible. Wade let himself lean into those touches just a bit more, instinctively letting out a guttural groan when she kneaded a certain spot. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and tried to pretend like his face wasn’t flaring red hot. Maya just laughed and continued working out the knots, watching him sputter from under ginger lashes.

Being anywhere close to Maya was a relief. Connecting the dots of her freckles in his mind, feeling the drag of her sleeve along with her fingers on his skin. Wade Wilson was a goner and he knew it. 

When the appointment ended, he cursed himself for wishing it hadn’t. Lingering in the doorway, he opened his mouth to say something, then closed it along with the door.

The next time he saw her, she did the same thing when she opened her front door to greet him. Instead of just gaping, however, she flashed a smile and welcomed him inside like everything was fine and neither of them were burning to say something, _anything_ more than the usual pleasantries.

As Maya let her palms glide over his disfigured face and neck, Wade closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw her staring at him with their noses almost touching. Neither of them moved, eyes locked together in a silent contest of whether one or both would lean forward just a little more to close the distance. 

Realizing that he wasn’t going to do anything except stare, Maya breathed out a laugh and opted for giving him a quick peck on the forehead. “Maybe next time.”

Her tone held humor and familiarity, but all Wade heard was the creak of a door opening in his view of her. She had said _“next time.”_ As in, she wanted to kiss him. And she had! It was quick, and just a peck, but still! His voices were going to have a field day berating him about this when he left.

Still not met with any kind of answer, Maya continued working and hoping that he might come to his senses at some point. A little trauma and denial could only stop him for so long, right? There had to be hope that Wade could eventually see how badly she wanted to kiss him in that moment or any other. 

Another session came with far more dancing around each other. Verbally, it was a miracle if either of the two could finish a sentence without looking to the other’s lips. Physically, they had lost some of the easiness from before and were left bumping elbows and making half-assed apologies to cover up the fact that they really _really_ wanted to savor that touch. Mentally, they both did gymnastics trying to figure out if the other one really did want to be more than client and caregiver.

Saying goodbye at the end was always the worst part. No longer could Maya simply close the door and look forward to the next appointment, no, they both had to linger for far too long in the doorway trying to stall for time together. When she was finally alone, she would let out a weary sigh and slump against the smooth wood, cursing herself for not making a move when they both so clearly wanted to. 

For Wade, the worst part was when he got home and the voices came back to berate him for being useless in romantic situations. With Vanessa it had been so easy. Pay for a night, hook up, fall a little more in love. With Maya, he felt like he had to convince her to go out with him. Not completely unaware, but also unable to believe it, he knew she liked him in some capacity. That she was attracted to the freak under the red suit and dirty hoodies and self loathing. It was almost too much to bear.

There was a moment in a conversation with his voices that Wade sarcastically offered to write her a note like they were in middle school and wait for her to check yes or no to going on a date. Unfortunately, they thought it was a great idea. Too tired to argue, he had told them to shut up and absentmindedly wrote her name on a napkin. Seeing what his accursed hand had done, he scowled and balled it up, shoving it into his pocket to find three days later when trying to locate his gloves. Upon reading it again, he tore the napkin in half and threw it in the trash.

There was another moment in a conversation with Ted in which Maya accidentally let slip that she had kissed Wade during a session. He had been way too excited and wanted to hear every detail, only to be disappointed when she told him what had actually happened. Frustrated for her, but also kind of at her, he made her promise to flirt with Wade for real once they saw each other again. Not wanting to be nagged about it for the rest of her life, she begrudgingly agreed.


	10. Adam

Ten Years Earlier

“Alright, who needs their boo-boos kissed?” Maya called out to the occupants of the Hellhouse dispatch after what was apparently a rough night for everyone. “Form a line against the wall, here we go.”

Sitting on a bar stool she had pulled over, she addressed the various ailments of the mercenaries with quick precision. Using her powers had always come naturally, but working at the dispatch had provided an extra level of discipline and skill. 

At the end of the line was a man she had only seen a few times. A mystery to most of the mercs, all they knew was that he went by Adam.

“Just here.” His silky smooth voice came with an accent, and it made Maya blush just a bit. He lifted his sleeve to show her a dark bruise that covered almost all of his forearm.

Taking his arm gently, Maya asked, “So what happened? I usually see marks like this on legs or backs.”

He shrugged, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

Tracing her fingertips along the bruise, she continued talking just to fill the silence. “You know, there are some guys who will just start telling me their whole life story as soon as they get to my chair, so it’s nice sometimes to get a quiet one like you.”

Adam watched her work, eyes flickering to her face when she wasn’t looking. This was the first time she had healed him and it was the best thing he had ever felt. Even so, he’d much rather look at her than the small miracle she was performing on his arm.

“There, all better!” Maya let go of his arm and beamed at him as she slipped off of the bar stool. 

Without thinking, he said, “Weren’t you supposed to kiss it?” Realizing what had escaped his mouth, he froze.

Thankfully, she just laughed. “If that would make you feel better, sure.” She lifted his knuckles to her lips, and somehow, the feeling was even better than being healed. 

Unsure of what to say, he walked off, leaving her amused and beginning to crush. Ted, who had watched all of this from afar, fast-walked over to her as soon as Adam was out of earshot.

“What was that?!” His stage whisper was just as excited as her heartbeat. 

“I don’t know, but I liked it.” 

The next few times Maya spoke with Adam didn’t actually involve much speaking. He would be in line to get healed more and more often, leaving her blushing and slightly suspicious. After he came back from a job with a huge gash in his leg, she knew something was off.

“Adam, look at me.” Her tone was serious, as was the look in her eyes as she rose from where she had been kneeling to press her hands to his injury. “Are you getting yourself hurt on purpose?”

He hesitated, and that was all the proof she needed. Scowling, Maya cupped his face in her hands to make sure he couldn’t turn away. “If you want to spend time with me, just ask.” 

Letting out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, he nodded, leaning forward to bump their foreheads together.

“Dumbass.”

Properly scolded, he started sitting with her when they were both off duty, earning both of them wiggled eyebrows from Ted. The conversations were still pretty one-sided, but Maya could occasionally spur some talk out of him. She could tell that he didn’t like sharing details about his work, and he didn’t ask about her family. He gave her details, little things that she would remember later on and surprise him with. His favorite color. The year he was given his childhood guinea pig. His mother’s name. In turn, he accommodated her wants and needs without a word. He brought her the drink she liked best from the coffee shop a few streets over. He read her favorite book and gave her his copy with scribbles in the margins of his thoughts and reactions. 

Unable to admit attraction on either side. Ted hounded Maya every day to say or do _something._ He was tired of them being the only ones who didn’t know they had feelings for each other. He cringed every time one referred to the other as a friend.

If he wasn’t so guarded, the tipping point for Adam very well could have been the night that he and Maya ended up at the same bar on a night out. They hadn’t come together, and she was with a group. He didn’t even know she was there until he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was late in the night and they had both been drinking. She had mascara tracks on her cheeks from crying and she looked like she was about to start again.

“Adam?” Her voice was so quiet and shaky that he felt his heart clench.

She moved closer to him and took his hand, and he could feel that she was trembling. Feeling a wave of protectiveness surge over him, he pulled her into his embrace and asked what was wrong as a whisper into her ear.

“I-I was getting a drink and,” She was hiccuping and definitely crying again. “Some guy I don’t know wouldn’t leave me alone. I told him to fuck off and he got mad so I said I was here with my boyfriend and all the people I came with are girls, but I saw you and…” Her voice trailed off as she sobbed into his shirt. 

Adam had only been half listening as she slurred her way through what had happened. He was far more focused on the way she clung to him like a lifeboat in a sea of drunkenness and predatory assholes. Stroking her hair, he murmured back, “Just stay with me, yeah? I’ll watch out for you. No one’s gonna mess with you while I’m here, okay?” 

Just when Maya seemed to be feeling better, a man walked up to the two of them with a drink sloshing in his hand. “So you _weren't_ lying. That’s too bad. I woulda made you happier than this shithead.”

Hearing this, she clenched her fingers tighter around fistfuls of his shirt and buried her face in his chest. If this was a job, Adam would have already knocked this guy on his ass. Unfortunately, he had the woman of his dreams to worry about. 

True to his nature, he didn’t reply to the man in front of him. Instead, he held Maya tighter and glared at him until he got the message and ambled off. Satisfied enough to look away, he pressed his cheek to hers.

“He’s gone, love. He won’t hurt you.”

Her crying hadn’t stopped and so he continued whispering sweet nothings until she felt alright enough to stop gripping his shirt and wind her hands around his back to hug him. She could feel his steady heartbeat, and it calmed her nerves.

“Thank you.”

He gave her a soft squeeze. “Anytime, darling. If you ever need me to be your safe place, I’m here.”

Maya went home with her friends that night drowsy with drinking and affection. Her thoughts stumbled and fell over the idea that Adam would be the perfect boyfriend material, fake or otherwise.

Living as a woman in any city had challenges, but being packed into a nightclub in NYC was especially fraught with disaster. This is what led Maya directly back into his arms. 

It had been a similar scenario, but this time she was considerably less drunk and far more aware of Adam’s wish to be near her. They had come with the same group, and his eyes had hardly left her all night. Flattered, but still unable to make a move, the opening came when a particularly persistent suitor wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

Turning to Adam, she asked just loud enough for both men to hear, “Baby, c’mere.”

Feeling like his knees would give out any second, he managed to somewhat nonchalantly join her next to the other man. “Is this guy bothering you, love?”

Turning on the puppy eyes, she nodded and snuggled into him. “I told him you wouldn’t like it if I gave him my number, but he wouldn’t listen.” 

The way she pouted was a little exaggerated, but it did its job. Adam hugged her tightly and looked over to give the guy a piece of his mind, but he had already melted back into the crowd. 

Mind still stuck on what she had said earlier, he tilted Maya’s face to meet his eyes. “You called me baby.”

Four very deadpan words, but she knew there was a lot more going on inside his head. Smiling and giggling at his reaction, she moved her hands to rest around his neck. “You don’t like it?”

The sultry edge to her voice was playful, but it was more than enough to make him stumble over his words. “Ah, no. No, no, no. It was...fine.”

“Just fine?” She leaned closer and closer until all he could smell was her perfume. Her lips were just below his ear, it would be so easy for her to nip at it. And then she did, and his heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest.

“More than fine.” He was out of breath and buzzing from the contact. 

“You wanna be my baby, Adam?” And now his jeans were far too tight for comfort. 

Unable to speak, he nodded and buried his face in her neck. 

“I guess you should take me home, then.” 

It was a swift exit to his car, even more so to his bed. After that night, Ted’s cringing was put to rest.


	11. staycation

Before another Saturday could arrive, Wade was shifting his weight from one broken foot to the other on Maya’s doorstep. He knocked lightly and swore at his injuries until she opened the door.

“Wade? Oh my god!” She grabbed him by the arm and helped him sit down inside, not caring at all when he left bloodstains everywhere. “Honey, what happened?”

Swallowing hard to get the taste of the pet name out of his mouth, he could only say, “Bad job. Tried to sleep it off, but it didn’t work.”

His healing factor was incredible, but it still took time. Wounds closed before her eyes, but it hardly made a difference. 

“Okay, you stay here.” 

Maya came back a moment later with a wet towel that she used to sop up blood while moving her other hand over the worst of the cuts and scrapes. “You just try to sleep, I’ll take care of this.”

“Thanks, babe.” Oops, that didn’t mean to slip out. Going red as the towel, he resolved to stay quiet.

She didn’t say anything, but if he had looked at her, he would have seen the smile on her face. 

As gashes sealed and broken bones mended, Wade fell asleep on the sofa to the most blissful nothingness he had experienced in a long time. No dreams, no waking up screaming, just a blank void. Maya tended to him, thinking to herself about how cute he was when he made faces in his sleep. He may not have been dreaming, but his mind was never quiet.

Needing a break to recharge, she found a patch of sunlight to stretch out in. Just as her mind settled into unconsciousness, Wade opened his eyes. There was a moment of panic when he realized that she wasn’t beside him, but his fears were put to rest when he saw her sleeping on the floor. She seemed perfectly comfortable, but he laid a blanket over her just in case. 

**_You’re lucky I don’t know the words to ‘I Won’t Say I’m in Love’ from Hercules._ **

**So am I, honestly.**

Too groggy to respond, Wade simply watched Maya breathe until he felt weird about it and turned away. Fortunately for him, she stirred just enough to wake herself, staring up at him with bleary eyes and a sleepy smile.

“Hiya.”

“How ya feeling, champ?”

“I should be the one asking you that.” She sat up and stretched, shirt lifting with her arms. Nothing more was exposed than her midriff, but that alone was enough to make him want to crawl into the sofa cushions and disappear from embarrassment. Since when did he get so mushy?

“I’m a little better.” She joined him, taking his arm into her lap to begin her work again. “Won’t be taking a job any time soon, but I’ll live.”

Maya hummed in response, brows knitting together. “Let’s aim a little higher than staying alive, huh? Best case scenario would be less pain than you had the last time you were here.”

He couldn’t help but succumb to his body’s desire to lean his head on top of hers. “Don’t shoot too high, sweetness. You can only help so much.”

She sighed heavily and let her body relax into his. “I know, I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

They stayed that way for a long time. Cuddling without acknowledging that they were. Making small talk to fill the silence. It was nice, and it felt so _normal._ Like this was how they were meant to spend a Tuesday afternoon. Wade’s pessimism made him think that it was just a matter of time before this feeling was taken away, but the rest of him was happy to have it at all.

“I want you to stay.” The words fell out of Maya’s mouth so softly they almost blended in with the background noise of their breathing and the birds outside. 

He physically could not make his voice work.

Backpedaling, she quickly interjected before he could respond. “I mean, I want to make sure you’re really okay before I send you back out there to get hurt again.”

“I…” It was all he could manage until he snapped back to reality from the unicorn-rainbow-paradise of the thought that Maya had actually said she wanted him to stay with her for any period of time. “I-thank you. I appreciate that.”

She cringed at how forced it sounded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to come on so strong. I would just feel a lot better if I could monitor your progress without either of us having to commute every day or try to catch up over the phone, y’know?”

He did know. He also knew that her head was still nestled into his shoulder and there was not a force on earth that could have wrested him from that sofa. “I’ll stay if you think it’s best.” 

It was still too formal of an answer, but she would have to take it. “Okay, good. We’ll figure out logistics later. Right now, all I need you to do is put your leg up here so I can work on it.”

Once they reached the time that would typically end a session, Wade insisted they stop. He also wanted to pay for dinner, but she wouldn’t let him.

“You’re a guest, I’m not letting you pay for anything!”

He just rolled his eyes and dialed the number for the closest pizza place.

Half an hour later, they were tossing bits of pepperoni and ham into each other’s mouths and laughing about the delivery guy’s botched tattoo.

“It was definitely a dinosaur with a tambourine.”

“No way, I bet you ten bucks it was a ghost riding a bell pepper.”

The night went on in good humor until the awkward question of where Wade was going to sleep came up. Maya didn’t like leaving him on the gray suede sofa, but it seemed the obvious option. If she had been a little braver, she might have suggested they share her bed, but she had never been very confrontational, especially with her own feelings. In the end, he was given a heap of blankets and pillows to keep him company on the sofa.

Even after years of living alone, her bed had never felt so big and empty. Maya tossed and turned all night, slipping in and out of dreams. Wade, on the other hand, was surrounded by the most comforting environment he could think of and slept like the dead.

The next morning brought a strange sort of normalcy. They made breakfast together, moving around the kitchen like they had never known a time when they didn’t have to make sure the other wasn’t behind them or reaching in the way. They worked in tandem to cook, eat, clean, and enjoy the comfortable silence. To an outsider, it would seem that they had lived together for a long time. 

Near noon, Wade tried to bring up a conversation about when he should go, but Maya quashed it before it could really begin.

“I want you to stay as long as you need to. There’s no date you can mark on a calendar; healing isn’t linear and it definitely isn’t scheduled.”

There was no arguing with that.

On the third day, however, he really had to talk to her about it. He was becoming too comfortable, too much at home for his heart to take much more. They had already fallen into routines, and it would be just _so easy_ to stay indefinitely. 

“I gotta go sometime, Maya.”

“I know...I just…” She was sitting at the table with him, nervously twisting her hair around her fingers. There was no way to extend his stay any more; he had healed to the condition he had been in before he got pulverized. 

“I’ll still come to the sessions, I’ll be here every week.”

They were both tired of dancing around the thick haze of attraction and fear, but that didn’t make it any easier to cut through. 

“Okay. I guess I’ll let you go for now.” The smile didn’t reach her eyes.


	12. horny people have some rights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> explicit content warning! if you don't like reading smut, get outta here!

“If I was smart, I’d just give you a key.” 

He had come early to the next appointment, making Maya feel just a little bit better about letting him go.

“Then you’d never get rid of me.”

“Like that’s a bad thing.” 

Wade’s pulse jumped, and he was glad she hadn’t started touching him yet because she definitely would have felt him jolt. It was still so hard for him to believe that she hadn't wanted him to go the time before.

“You sure you’d wanna see this first thing every morning?” He gestured to his face incredulously.

Maya just smiled and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “There’s nothing I want more.” 

Uh oh, that one went a little further than the usual teasing. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she willed herself to stay focused on Wade so her expression could have a better chance of staying neutral. Mission critically failed. She was as red as a beet, and so was he.

“You promise?” His voice was softer than she had ever heard.

Allowing her body to move with her intuition and not her thoughts, she nodded as she pressed her forehead against his, still holding his face. Tenderly, she raised her lips to kiss him. He let out a sigh; of relief, of pleasure, of thanks. Hands only slightly trembling, he slipped them around her waist to pull her into an embrace. She was still standing while he sat on the massage table, but emboldened by these advances, Maya gave his chest a gentle push. With Wade sitting further back, she had room to climb into his lap and kiss him where she really wanted to: everywhere. 

The skin that was already exposed wasn’t enough for her, and soon she was pulling at his shirt. Fear flashed through her mind and she stopped suddenly, sitting back to look him in the eye.

“Is this okay? I don’t want to go too fast if-”

Wade cut her off with an even more passionate kiss. Coming up for air, he mumbled into her ear, “I’ll let you know if I want to stop. You do the same, okay?”

She nodded, breathing heavily. And with that, they were back to getting their clothes off. Once naked, there was only a moment of hesitation where he felt a wave of self-hatred wash over him, then he saw the adoring look on her face and snapped out of it. 

Having had to stand up to strip, they shared a glance of agreement and Maya grabbed his hand to lead him to her bedroom. Jumping onto the bed, she held out her arms to him with a smile.

“Come on, baby, I’m all yours!”

Her enthusiasm was contagious, and Wade jumped on after her, wrapping her up in his arms. “All mine, huh?”

“As long as you’ll have me.”

“Well I’m not missing out on an offer like that.” 

They were both smiling as they kissed again, and neither minded the way their teeth knocked together at first. It was the best feeling in the world to just be so open with each other that it didn’t matter if sexiness was compromised. Set the mood? What mood? 

Sitting up so that he was above Maya, he scooted back until his head was between her thighs. She placed a hand on the back of his neck, guiding him to her entrance where he licked a stripe from base to clit. Feeling her shudder, he took that as a signal to push his tongue inside. He curled and uncurled it until she was gasping his name, enjoying every moment of bliss that he could give her. Her hips in his hands, he moved one to rub her clit while keeping an even rhythm inside of her with his tongue. He tried different movements until he found the perfect spot to pay attention to. It wasn't long before she was bucking her hips into his mouth to try and get a little more friction, just enough to where she could let her release get swallowed up like she was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

The moans and sighs he could elicit from her with just a few licks were so sweet that he could almost forget about every negative thought he had ever had about his appearance. A hideous freak would never be able to pleasure someone so well, especially when that someone was Maya. The way her perfect body responded so willingly made him think that maybe he deserved to be desired. Vanessa wanted him despite his appearance, having already chosen to be with him before seeing him that way, but Maya wanted him for everything he was without reservation. 

Having teased an orgasm out of her with his tongue, Wade’s cock was sore with wanting to have its turn. Kissing his way up her body to her lips, he didn’t get the chance to ask before he heard her whisper, “Please, baby, I want you.”

“Want me to do what?” He was breathless, and not just from exertion.

She squirmed underneath him, trying to keep some sensation between her legs. “Fill me up, Wade.”

He loved the way she said his name. 

Flipping herself over, she knelt on all fours and raised her ass to meet his hips. “Come on loverboy, I can take it.” 

He couldn’t see her self-satisfied smirk, but he knew it was there. Lining himself up, he pushed in slowly, savoring the cool aloe feeling of her skin on his. Hearing the way she gasped and moaned his name, he went deeper and deeper until he was seated to the hilt. Just as slowly as he went in, he pulled back out.

Maya clenched the bedsheets, speaking through gritted teeth, “Faster!”

He obeyed, enjoying the way she grinded up against him, urging him to do more. Happy to oblige, he picked up the pace until their bodies were rocking against each other, keeping his cock in line to slam into that special spot he had found with his tongue. Once he got close, he slowed down, but when he tried to pull out completely was when she protested.

“No! No, no, no, you said you would fill me up!”

Readjusting his interpretation of her earlier command, he pushed back in and let go of the tension that had been building in a burst of cum that leaked out around his cock. Her second release wasn't far behind, and just added to the wetness between them. He almost came again when her hand reached back between her legs to pick up what had dripped down her leg so she could taste it. Hearing her satisfied hum didn’t help.

Nevertheless, he was spent. Pulling away was agony, but he needed to see her face. He needed to see that he had pleased her. Laying down next to each other, they shared a look that assured each other that they felt the same. That what they had done was more than sex, it was an admission of the feelings they had spent so long holding back. It was the moment when everything was right.

Wade kissed the tip of his lover’s nose and got up to find a towel to clean up with. After they were dry, Maya pulled the sheets off of the bed to change them. It was not sexy, there was no mood, but there was no need for it. They were clean, they were tired, and they were happy. And Wade would be staying the night, in the same bed, without any half-baked excuses.


	13. early to rise

When the first shafts of sunlight peeked through the skylight in Maya’s bedroom window, the warmth and energy from them woke her. She sat up and stretched, careful not to wake Wade as she went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

It wasn’t long before he joined her, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she brushed her teeth. “What time is it?”

The sleep in his voice and the way he squinted in the light made her smile. She spit toothpaste into the sink and looked at the clock, reading out, “Just after six.”

He let his head fall onto her shoulder with a groan. “Why are we awake?”

“I get up with the sun whether I like it or not. You go on back to sleep. We can have breakfast together when you wake up.”

With a _hmph_ , he trudged back into the other room and shut the door. The windows had curtains, but there was nothing he could do about the skylight, so he wrapped himself up in blankets and tried to ignore the birds outside.

Wade only managed to doze until some time after eight, when he decided that there was no point in just laying there listening to the birds, and went to sit with Maya. She put her laptop down and shifted so her head was in his lap. Looking up at him, she thought of how surprised he had been the night before when she admitted she wanted to see his face first thing every morning. It was true, and she had become so familiar with the grooves and lines of his skin that she could practically feel him just by looking. 

“What?”

“Nothing.” She took his hand in hers and kept her eyes on his.

“You were staring at me...You still are.”

“Yeah.” Maya smiled at how confused he looked.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Just like looking at you.”

He scoffed and turned away, but she sat up and scooted into his lap. 

Cupping his face in her hands, she turned him back to her. “I mean it, grumpy-pants. Just because you don’t like your face doesn’t mean I can’t.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he cleared his throat and changed the subject. “What do you want for breakfast?”

They cooked eggs and pancakes with fruit and orange juice and took it all out to eat in the backyard. There were a few chairs and a table under the awning above the back door. The view of the trees was somewhat uninteresting, yet peaceful. The sun had risen, but there were still traces of pink in the clouds above the grove. They ate in comfortable silence, sharing little bits here and there. 

Once they were done, there wasn’t much of a plan for the day. Maya refilled their drinks and brought them out to Wade. 

“Whatcha thinking about?”

He shrugged and took the cup from her outstretched hand. “Just like being here with you.”

She smiled and dragged her chair up next to his so she could lean against him while they sat together. “Me too.”

He put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Never thought I’d get here, honestly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Y’know, just...comfortable.” He took a sip of his drink, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. “Being with you makes me happy. And I feel safe here.”

“You didn’t think you could have that?”

“Not after Vanessa died, no.” 

Maya snuggled in closer and slipped her hand into his. “You can have whatever you want, Wade.”

The way her voice had softened almost made him believe it. 

There was a long pause, as they sat with her words hanging in the air. Then, she spoke again, “You make me feel the same way.” She took a deep breath. “I know what it’s like to think you can’t be whole again after you lose someone. But after a while you realize that you have always been whole...that person was just your matching pair. And you can find another match.”

“Like socks.”

She giggled under her breath. “Yes, like socks.”

“...Who was it?” He tried not to sound invasive, but there was no delicate way to ask about loss.

“Technically, there were two of them, but I can hardly separate them in my mind.” She took another deep breath, willing tears to stay in her eyes. “My son, Jacob, died when he was two years old. And his father and I broke up pretty soon after that.”

Wade had no idea how to respond. He never would have even guessed that Maya had been a mother. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t enough, but it was all he could say.

“It’s okay. I’ve had a decade to heal and learn to be myself again. Things get better.”

There was no need for words, and so they settled into silence once more.


	14. alexa, play The Cure

When Wade finally got a chance to look at his phone after a job, he felt a shiver of anxiety run down his spine. There was a notification for five missed texts from Maya.

_“What do you want for dinner?” sent 5:13_

_“I wish New York knew anything about barbecue.” sent 5:14_

_“I want to go ahead and order, so I’m gonna need you to respond soon.” sent 5:28_

_“I’m gonna hurt you, Wade Wilson.” sent 5:49_

_“Baby, you didn’t respond to my threat. Is everything okay?” sent 6:01_

Shit. She probably thought he was dead by now. He decided a call back would be better received than a text.

“I thought you died! Don’t fucking scare me like that, you prick!”

“I’m sorry baby, this is the first time I’ve been able to look at my phone since I left. I’ll be home in five minutes, okay?”

He could hear her huff through the phone. “Yeah, okay. Your food is cold, though.”

He smiled, forgetting she couldn’t see it. “That’s fine. I can see our street now anyways.”

“I’ll unlock the door. Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye.”

Wade couldn’t quite remember when her street became their street, but it was nice to say it so naturally. He had been spending a lot more time at Maya’s place, slowly transferring his stuff over without thinking much of it until Al mentioned how nice it was to not have his dirty laundry in the apartment anymore. By then, there was hardly any reason to go back there at all. Al never said it out loud, but he could tell that she liked the idea of having the place to herself again. He wasn’t exactly what she had bargained for when she put up the ad on Craigslist. 

The weeks since their relationship had become more than professional had melded together so smoothly that it felt like he had been living with her for far longer. The suggestion of him moving in completely had come up recently, and they planned to spend the weekend gathering the last of his things to be transferred to the house that was no longer Maya’s, but Maya and Wade’s.

Changing seasons meant darker evenings, and the sun was setting as he opened the door to find his girlfriend in the living room waiting for him. He would never get tired of calling her that. His _girlfriend._ Not just the woman he saw on Saturdays for healing, but Maya, the person who could make him smile even while she was giving him an exaggerated pout from across the room.

She stuck her arms out, waiting for him to come give her a hug, and he obliged. Maybe a little too enthusiastically, as he swung her up into his arms for a kiss. 

“I’m not gonna forgive you just yet, mister.” Her eyes were shining and so was her smile, though she tried to hide it with a stern look.

“I guess I’ll just have to work harder, then.” He laid her down on the couch so he could attack her face with kisses, caging her in with his arms and legs so she couldn’t roll off. She laughed through the affectionate barrage until her core was aching. 

“Wade!” As soon as he backed off just a little, she pulled him in to kiss him square on the lips.

Enjoying her sneaky tactic immensely, he gave in and scooped her up to reverse positions. With her laying on top of him giving him love, he didn’t care that his food was getting colder in the kitchen.

By the time he actually sat down to eat, it was late and Maya was sitting with him to get a head start on work for the next day. T steady clacking of laptop keys filled the silence until a pause was coupled with a strange expression on her face.

“What’s up?”

“Hmm...some company heard about my work and they want me to work with them on a vaccine.”

“What for?”

“Avian flu. These guys have been researching it for a long time apparently and they’re worried about the spread.”

“You think they’re legit?” An unspoken mention of what happened when he had trusted a private medical agency hung in the air.

“I don’t know, but I want to research them some more anyway. Can’t be too careful.”

Wade nodded and took his plate to the sink. Neither of them liked thinking of what he had gone through to get his mutation, but comfort be damned if it meant risking the same thing happening to her.

Maya tried looking into the organization, called the New York Center for Rare Diseases, without much luck. Since they weren’t formed or operated by the government, they had full control of what was shared with the public. There was an official website with general information, but not many specifics on what she might be getting into. 

After a week and a half of email correspondence between Maya and the NYCRD, they felt confident enough that she would be fine. And if she wasn’t, she could handle herself. And if she couldn’t, Wade would be there too. She told the liaison she was willing to help, and they set up a meeting at the building she double checked was the one on the website.

The morning of the meeting, the couple ran through the checklist they had prepared.

“Phones, charged until the last second,”

“Check.”

“Knife hidden in belt.”

“Check.”

“Granola bar in case this takes forever and we get hungry.”

“Check.”

“Cash for the uber.”

“Check.”

“Okay, I think that’s it. You ready?”

Maya shrugged and laced her fingers through his. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They were going to a large building in downtown New York City to talk with a doctor about a new vaccine, so why did it feel like they were headed for a hospital in Baltimore to meet Hannibal Lecter?


	15. measures and milk cartons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little longer, but it didn't make sense to split it up into two chapters

“Good morning Ms. Eldridge. Mr. Wilson.”

Dr. Samper was the second in command to the head of the NYCRD, Dr. Engle. She was the one Maya had been corresponding with over the last week, and was fully aware of her wishes to keep Wade with her.

“Hi, Dr. Samper. Is this where we’re going to meet every time?”

“Yes, I will inform you ahead of time if anything changes logistically.” She was middle aged, with the demeanor of an elementary school principal. Kind, but able to keep things in line. Her salt and pepper hair was kept away from her face in a ponytail with a pen stuck in it. 

Maya had not let go of Wade’s hand since they left the house, but it was more for his sake than hers. His anxiety far surpassed hers, though she was the one actually working with the doctors. Every time he let his mind wander, he would be assaulted with memories of the Workshop and the torture he had gone through. When his eyes would glaze over, Maya would squeeze his hand to bring him back to the present.

The two women talked about the expectations of the partnership, how Dr. Engle had specifically requested Maya’s involvement after seeing a video of her healing online, and everything she had a question for.

How many days a week would she be at the center? Negotiation is available, but the current schedule is three days a week for six hours.

Who would she be working with? There’s a team of doctors and technicians that were assigned to work with her, and only her.

Where would she be working? The lab is on the level below the ground floor to make sure that it is safe as possible for everyone involved. We wouldn’t want an accident to restrict access to any of the other floors, would we? 

Satisfied, Maya asked Wade if he had anything he’d like to ask Dr. Samper. Knowing that invasive questions alluding to the possibility of the center being a coverup for an illegal mutant factory wouldn’t go over well, he just shrugged. 

“I just want to know that she’ll be safe and that I can stay with her.”

“I can assure you that Ms. Eldridge will be just fine, but if you have any doubts, please contact me directly and I will do my best to assist you.”

He didn’t like the way she kept her eyes on Maya as she talked to him. “Yeah, thanks.”

The first day at work with the team was mainly preliminary. They were taken to the lab and introduced to everyone. Maya was given a personal desk and shown where the others would be if she needed them. They went through the day-to-day schedule with time allotted for research and collaboration. After all this was done, Maya had her blood drawn and physical check-up recorded by a technician so that the team could analyze her mutation alongside the information they already had.

It was a little strange for both of them, but the people were nice and the lab was a far cry from a grimy warehouse with hospital beds set up between curtains. Wade didn’t know if he completely trusted Dr. Samper, but she wasn’t going to be doing any hands-on work anyway. The only time any of them would see her was if they went up to her office on the fourth floor. Overall, it was a fine first impression.

The second day at work wasn’t much different. Maya worked with the team to understand how avian flu could be combated by mutant genes, and Wade played Words with Friends with Al. He wasn't sure how she managed, maybe she had Weasel or someone else read the letters out to her.

He was bored out of his mind, but that didn’t matter as long as he was there to make sure there wasn’t a suffocation chamber being wheeled out. He knew that Maya could and would take care of herself, but he also knew that if he wasn’t there with her, he would be going out of his mind with worry. She was just as aware, and that’s exactly why she offered to let him tag along.

By the eleventh day, he felt safe enough to stay home. They had spent over a week with the team, and there had been no funny business to speak of. Maya was working diligently with the others to isolate the DNA strands that would give patients a diluted form of her mutation, and there was still a long way to go. Nevertheless, his trust and boredom had finally beaten out his anxiety, allowing him to do work of his own. He didn’t take jobs that would last more than a few hours at most, and the center was paying them enough that he could have just slept all day every day if he wanted to. The jobs were really just to keep him busy while she was away.

By the end of the month, the team had reached something of a breakthrough. They had found the sequence most likely to be her mutation, and had gone out after work one night to celebrate. By then, Maya had gotten to know them well enough to consider them work friends, and Wade knew them from the daily updates she would give him. He joined them all for drinks at a bar near the center that Trent always said was his favorite. He was one of the quieter technicians, but they all knew he was a foodie, so they trusted his choice. 

Millie’s name tag said Dr. Bernard, but she wasn’t the type to stick to formalities. She bought the first round and led the toast to their breakthrough. 

Janet was the other doctor on the team, but she had a doctorate in biochemistry rather than an M.D. like Millie. 

Paula was the one to go to if you needed advice on theory or research methods, and Gil was the one for advice on a bad hookup or a hangover.

Wyatt was the newest member other than Maya, and they talked a lot about being thrown into a huge project with so little experience. He was fresh out of undergrad as a biology major and felt just as out of his depth as she did.

By the fiftieth day of work, they weren’t much closer to reaching a viable vaccine, but no hope was lost. A project like this could take over a decade to complete, and it had been less than two months.

On the fifty-seventh day, Dr. Engle paid a visit to the lab to see how things were moving along. Maya told Wade all about him, from the way he peered down through the glasses on his nose to the squeak of his shoes coming down the hall.

“You could hear him a mile away. You’d think he could use some of that doctor money to buy a nicer pair of shoes, right?”

The visit went well, and his choice of shoes was all she had to criticize. Dr. Engle was all business, but smiled at the way Gil complained loudly about the lack of romance in his work-centric life. 

"You signed up for this position, didn't you, Mr. Docson?"

"Well sure, but I had no idea it would be such a turn-off!"

From his description, Wade already liked Dr. Engle more than Dr. Samper. He seemed like he would actually look at who he was talking to. 

On the seventy-first day, Maya didn’t respond to any of Wade’s texts. She said that the team was especially busy, and that she didn’t have time for anything else, but her explanation only caused him to worry more. He let the subject drop, but she had been busy before, and they had never gone a whole work day without talking once. He decided not to bring it up again and just believe that it would be a one-time thing.

There was a period where it looked like this would be the case, but the seventy-ninth day went without contact as well. Even when Wade tried to call her, there was no answer. When Maya got home, he was waiting with dinner and a strained look on his face.

“Didn't you say this wouldn’t happen again?”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I know, honey. I’m sorry...I don’t mean to ignore you, I just…”

He set down her plate and took his seat across from her. “I’m not mad, Maya, I just get worried when you don’t respond. It isn’t like you.”

She picked at her food without saying anything or meeting his eyes until he reached out to take her hand. “I’m just so tired, Wade. When I’m there, I’m working, and when I have time for anything else, all I can do is put my head down on my desk and try to sleep a little.”

He frowned, taking her other hand in his. “That’s not normal, Maya. Maybe we should talk to Samper about rescheduling your hours.” As much as he disliked the idea of talking to that woman again, he doubted Dr. Engle would want to be bothered with something so trivial.

Maya gave him a weary smile and let go of his hands so she could eat. “I’ll try and talk to her tomorrow before I go down to the lab.”

“Thanks, baby. You want more rice?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you for dinner.”

“Of course. Gotta keep you strong for whatever they have you doing in there.”

On the eightieth day, Maya went to see Dr. Samper before work. 

“Well, I would hate to see the most valuable member of the team at work the least, but I understand your concern. Your health is of the utmost importance to us here. How does half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays sound?”

“I think that’s a good place to start, and if the drowsiness doesn’t get any better, I’ll come talk to you again.”

“Of course, Ms. Eldridge. Feel free to speak with me anytime.”

It wasn’t enough. If anything, the problem worsened. Maya went home early twice a week to take a nap and spend more time with her boyfriend, but she was always exhausted. It didn’t help that the work itself was becoming more difficult. Developing a vaccine was not easy, even with the help of her mutant DNA. Each bit of progress just made things more complex. Each new strain of the virus presented a new challenge. 

While packing up to go home one day, Maya looked around at her coworkers with a yawn. They were all so sweet to her, and she would be sad to someday leave them behind. Maybe they would keep in touch, but it didn’t seem likely. She hardly knew anything about them beside their work and the surface level details that would come up in casual conversation. It was a strange revelation to have, but not one she had never experienced before. It felt similar to leaving behind classmates after high school to go to college where you would never see them again.

Maya yawned a second time, rubbing at her eyes to wake herself up a little. She realized that she had been staring at Trent while she was thinking. Weird that he never looked as tired as she felt. None of them did. Maybe they just hid it well; they were more used to this kind of work anyway.

On the hundred and third day of work, Maya was late. She never came home late, even when she was so tired she thought she might just pass out on the subway. Wade called her phone three times to be met with her cheerful voicemail message telling him that she wasn’t able to get to her phone right then, but she would call back as soon as possible! 

Cursing to himself in an empty house, he dialed Dr. Samper’s number instead.

“Hello, this is-”

His voice was harried as he cut her off. “Maya’s late and she isn’t picking up her phone. Do you know where she is?”

He was already on the way to the nearest main street to call a cab when she answered. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen her today. I would assume that she just caught up with something in the lab. Perhaps her phone died?”

This wasn’t helping. “Could you call down there or something? I’m on my way, but I won’t get there for another five or ten minutes.”

“Of course, Mr. Wilson. Hold on for just a moment.”

Wade closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths as soon as he got in the cab. He gave the driver the address and prayed to anyone or anything that was listening that Maya was okay.

“Apparently, she is not in the lab and hasn’t been for some time. Mr. Docson told me that she left around the time she normally does, but I would like to speak with those still present face to face. I will meet you in the lab.”

“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it.” 

Wade almost ran into Dr. Samper as he entered the room. He had so many questions, and so, it seemed, did she. 

“Mr. Docson, could you give me an estimated time of departure for all of your coworkers?”

Gil was obviously confused, but didn’t want to question the doctor’s authority, so he wrote down the information he could remember. 

Wade couldn’t stop himself from pacing in circles and the voices in his head were just as agitated as he was. If he didn’t hear some good news soon, he was going to get a little hysterical.

Meanwhile, Samper was still grilling Gil. “Did anyone seem off today, especially Maya?”

“No, not really. Everyone is stressed, but no more than usual.”

“Has anyone said anything uncharacteristic?”

“Not that I know of. Wait, is something wrong with Maya?”

“Mr. Wilson is here with me now because she did not come home from work today.”

While the two of them conversed, Wade was trying to call her again, hoping that she really was just late, and that her phone had died, and that she wasn’t in danger. When he was met with her voicemail again, he cursed loud enough for them to hear. When he had taken enough deep breaths to look at them again, Samper and Gil were giving him pitiful looks that made him want to ralph up his lunch.

“She still isn’t answering.”

Dr. Samper sighed. “I suppose there is no use in keeping any of us here longer. Maya obviously isn’t here. Mr. Docson, go home and get some rest, but do not hesitate to call me if you learn anything.”

He nodded and left, probably glad to not be under her gaze anymore.

“Mr. Wilson, you should go home as well. She may be waiting for you now, and if she isn’t, you can contact the authorities from there just the same as anywhere else.”

He couldn’t look at her, but he managed to clear his throat and nod. “Thanks for your help.” He was on his way out, but stopped in the doorway when he felt her eyes on his back. “I know the drill Doc, I’ll call you if I hear anything.”


	16. hello, clarice

Maya woke before she opened her eyes. Her head pounded, and the smell of gasoline and rubbing alcohol wasn’t helping. This was not the lab. She could feel restraints around her arms and ankles, and there was cold metal underneath her; a gurney, maybe a table. The ringing in her ears drowned out any other sound, but she could tell that if anyone else was there, they weren’t speaking.

This was not her first rodeo, and checking for outside variables had to begin before making any kind of movement. If there was another person with her, they weren’t the friendly sort, and they were probably waiting for her to wake up so they could start their evil monologue. Better to hold that off.

As the ringing died down, she strained to hear anything else. The hum of a running car emerged from the ambient noise. That would explain the gasoline, but why could she smell rubbing alcohol? If that’s what it really was. Every one of her muscles were taught with anticipation of whatever was going to happen next. She couldn’t just lay there forever.

The answer came shortly after in the way of a hand on her shin. “I know you’re awake in there, Maya.”

At their home outside NYC, Wade was tearing the place apart trying to find any sign of where his girlfriend might be. There was no note, no voicemail, nothing. Minutes ticked by and Maya still hadn’t come home. If he wasn’t freaking out before, he was then. It had been over two hours since she was supposed to be home. His mind was so filled with chaos that even the voices were drowned out. Any rational thought he tried to form was snatched away by a current of worry for her safety, doubt in his ability to protect her, the terrifying possibility of her already being dead, and anxious radio static between it all. At least when Vanessa died, he knew exactly what happened and reacted the only way he could. This was different. This was torture.

Picking himself up off the floor where he had sunk to his knees, he wiped his eyes of angry, scared tears and called Weasel.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Maya’s gone.”

There was a beat where Weasel was shocked into silence. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

Wade could hardly process what was happening without having to try and explain, and his words kept coming out sharp. “She didn’t come home from work, and she isn’t answering any of my calls, and no one knows where she is.”

“Uhhh, shit. Are you at home? I’m coming over.”

“Yeah…” He took a shaky breath. “I can’t lose her, man.”

“I know.”

Maya knew better than to give in to her captor’s goading. Instead, she remained perfectly still with her eyes shut. The pounding in her head had subsided into a dull ache. The hand on her leg gave her a pat and was removed.

“I don’t know why you keep pretending, but there are more important matters here.”

The sound of footsteps meant they were retreating, at least a little, and Maya finally looked to see if her suspicions would be confirmed. She had been right, she did know that voice.

Dr. Millie Bernard smiled from behind a small table. There were various instruments and papers covering every inch of the surface, but the doctor didn’t touch them. She just kept smiling serenely as she walked over to the car parked a few feet away and turned off the engine. 

“You know, I’m almost surprised you didn’t wake up on the ride over. It wasn’t exactly short. But it hasn’t been that long since I got you all strapped in, just a few minutes.” She turned and made her way back over with the casual tone she used in the lab. It was worse that way; having to keep this new version of her connected to the other.

Maya stayed quiet, knowing there was nothing she could say to make things any better.

“I had to keep the car running while I got everything set up, just in case someone came in, or you fought back, or whatever else might have happened to fuck this up.” Millie pulled a chair over from behind the table Maya laid on and sat down. “You have no idea how many times I thought I was being followed on the way over here. I kept checking my mirrors like I thought they were going to fly away!” 

Even the way she laughed to herself was far too casual. Maya kept her eyes on Millie, not wanting to miss anything she did. 

“You were always so sweet to everyone at the lab, it really is a shame that I have to do this.”

There was a long pause while the doctor waited for Maya to answer, and she just stared back stone-faced.

“Aren’t you going to say anything? Ask me why? Tell me I don’t have to do whatever it is I brought you here for?” No answer. “Ugh, so stubborn. Don’t worry though, I’ll tell you anyway. I’m nice like that.”

She gave Maya another smile and stood up to circle around to where she had pulled the chair from. There was a desk there (now sans chair,) a laptop, and what looked like some kind of generator that blocked most of her view of that side of the room. She grabbed the computer and brought it back to her seat so that Maya could see her better.

Typing away, Millie kept talking. “Now, I’m sure the others had all kinds of reasons to join the team, but I had a very special reason. See, avian flu is quite a rare disease. It affects less than a thousand people in the U.S. per year. It’s typically contracted by people in contact with sick birds, but it’s an airborne disease, so it can travel to people who haven’t touched a bird in their life.” 

Maya listened, but she watched the doctor’s movements carefully. This was a person in a position to do dangerous things if given the chance.

“The symptoms are so much like the common flu, that most people who contract it don’t seek treatment and just try to ride it out. And therein lies the problem, Maya. If the affected person doesn’t get treated, they will very likely die from avian flu.” She looked up from the laptop to meet her eyes. “And my mother is not a woman who likes being told what to do.”

Weasel found his friend agitatedly pacing his living room. Everything was a mess, and he had to push past the debris to put a hand on Wade’s shoulder.

“Hey, look at me.” Wade didn’t have the strength to struggle. “Maya is a kickass lady with good instincts. She also has crazy healing powers. If I had to bet on anybody’s survival, it’s hers.”

Wade nodded and rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re right. I know you’re right, and she can handle herself, but that’s not gonna stop me from freaking the fuck out until I find her.”

“I know, dude. Let’s see if we can track her phone.”

It was a good idea, and the only plan on the table, so he shoved some stuff off the couch for Weasel to sit and mess with his phone and went to get a gun for when they figured out where the hell she was.

“You wouldn’t know this because you have a shitty android, but iphones have this thing where you can track them using an app in case you lose them. I’m gonna need you to put in her account information here.”

He handed the phone over and willed his hands to stop trembling so he could type. Once it was all in, he watched the loading symbol spin for what felt like hours, but must have been only a minute or two. When the next screen popped up, there was a map with a marker next to a parking garage on the other side of town. 

Wade let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and let Weasel pull him off the couch by his wrist. His whole body felt like it had been turned into jelly, but he knew where she was. At least, he knew where her phone was, and that was good enough.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bernard went on about how her mother contracted avian flu and refused to seek treatment despite her daughter’s warning that it seemed worse than usual and should be diagnosed professionally. It really wasn’t the best sob story Maya had heard, but it was enough to push her coworker over the edge when her mother was hospitalized a few days prior while the work done in the lab wasn’t anywhere near completion. 

“I had been working at a local hospital, but then my mom got sick, and I jumped at the chance to work on a cure.”

Maya wanted to tell Millie that vaccines aren’t a cure, they’re meant to be preventative, but she held her tongue. Arguing would just make things worse. Tuning out the rest of the monologue, she surveyed her surroundings for anything that could be used as a weapon. She also took note of the fact that her restraints were leather buckles, meaning she had been strapped to the gurneys used for combative patients. It had likely been stolen from the hospital Millie had mentioned, but that was hardly surprising. 

There was still no obvious indication of what she planned to do to Maya, but whatever it was couldn’t be pleasant. She had reached some kind of breaking point that warranted kidnapping in her mind, and so anything could be justified. This wasn’t just about helping victims, it was about winning an argument. There was no compromising with self-righteousness.

“And you know what else, Maya?”

She had officially tuned back into the crazy channel.

“The NYCRD wasn’t the only organization I reached out to about a project like this. There’s this place I found online that does some...shall we say, underground work with terminal patients to try out new, unauthorized treatments.”

Oh, she was definitely listening now.

“The representative I talked to told me that the head of their operation had just stepped down, so they were looking for new hires to fill up the spots of people who got promoted. Of course I said yes to an offer like that!”

Every mention of the Workshop and Wade’s torture there flooded her mind all at once. Every passing comment about his condition or appearance was a reminder of what he had been through. His fear of suffocation wasn’t brought up much, but those were usually the nights when he woke up coughing and clawing at his throat. The people running that hellhole made the man Maya loved most hate himself, and as much as it made sense, she did not want to believe that Dr. Bernard was working with them.


	17. tastes like disappointment

As the two men closed in on the phone’s location, Wade kept his finger on the trigger of his gun. He hadn’t bothered to suit up - there was no time to be wasted. The parking garage had been closed off with netting and signs, but they drove straight through it all. The marker on the screen pulsed with every second they drove closer, and Wade watched for any movement through the windshield. The place seemed to be empty.

They drove in circles around every level of the garage until they reached the last floor. When the phone pinged and displayed the message saying they had arrived at their destination, Wade threw open the car door and bolted further into the room, leaving Weasel and the car at the edge closest to where daylight shone in through the open space between levels. 

He ran around the entire floor calling her name, seeing nothing but empty parking spaces. Turning around wildly until he spotted it, he ran for the stairway leading to the roof.

“I’m coming, baby! It’s Wade, I’m here!”

There was no response, but he wasn’t expecting one. She had to be on the roof of this place or else the signal was wrong. And if the signal was wrong, there was no lead, and he was back to square one. He couldn’t allow himself to think of that, so he just ran.

While Wade and Weasel had been driving across New York City, Dr. Bernard noticed the slight change in Maya’s carefully neutral expression.

“Oh, what’s this? Do you know about the Workshop?” She leaned forward, her smile tinged with a predator’s snarl. “That’s good, I won’t have to explain the backstory.”

She turned the laptop around to face her prisoner. The screen showed blueprints of what looked to be a very large building. “This is the plan for the new facility that will replace the one burned down a few years ago. It’s taken a lot of time and hard work, but the Workshop will finally have a central operation again. Isn’t that exciting?”

Maya flexed her arms inside the restraints, testing how tight they were, and they were plenty strong enough to keep her stationary.

“We’ve had to work alone or in small groups at temporary locations for so long, but the new head sent out the blueprints for the facility he had commissioned yesterday. I’ll be so glad to leave the NYCRD once it’s done. Things just get done so much faster at the Workshop, y’know?”

Maya did not know, nor did she care to find out, but Millie just kept talking.

“This facility is supposed to be way nicer than the old one, but I never got to see it. Someone told me the last head didn’t care about upkeep at all and let it get nasty. Hopefully, this one will spend a little more on things like that, but I’d probably keep working there even if he didn’t. A little grime won’t keep me from making the world a better place!”

Maya found that debatable. 

“Now, let’s see what I can do with you while I have you here.” 

Dr. Bernard stood and placed the laptop on Maya’s legs so she could move behind her to the large machine. It had been dormant so far, but with the push of a few buttons, it was blinking and humming to life. 

“This is on loan from the Workshop, and it was _such_ a hassle to get it here without a scratch. Of course, I am eternally grateful to my associates for giving me access to such a device.” She pulled various wires from where they had been coiled up inside the machine, attaching them to nodes that she stuck to Maya’s chest and limbs. “I’m not entirely sure _how_ it works, but I’ve seen it in action, and oh boy, does it get the job done.”

Maya closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to concentrate on the things she could control: her actions, her words, whether she let the doctor’s rambling affect her. She thought of Wade, what he might be doing at that moment. Surely, he was looking for her. She could hope for a daring rescue all she wanted, but it wasn’t guaranteed - she would have to do it herself, at least for the time being.

Millie was still puttering around the machine, her eyes on it instead of her. Not wanting to waste a second, Maya strained her mind to think of anything that might be able to help her get out of her restraints. Before her brainstorming could reach a conclusion however, Millie had finished her preparations and turned the machine on.

Any thought that was in Maya’s mind was gone in an instant. Every nerve was on fire, and the over-stimulation caused her vision to go white. It wasn’t pain, though, it was something else. It may have hurt on some level, but there was so much happening to her body at once that she couldn’t even feel it. It was everything and it was nothing, but most of all it was overwhelming. 

If she could have seen herself, she would have been horrified by the way her body trembled and shook. It was like she was being electrocuted by the wires connecting her to the machine, though it made no indication of its doing other than blinking its lights and emitting that same hum. Her mouth was agape and her throat choked out gasps and groans without her consent. Her eyes had rolled back into her head, showing only a sliver of white under fluttering lids.

Dr. Bernard pressed the power button on the machine to let Maya’s body drop back onto the table with a grunt. There was a slight quiver to her fingers still, but the doctor paid her no mind. She was much more interested in the vitals darting across her laptop screen. The blueprints had been replaced with her heart rate, blood pressure, and everything else to be monitored while she was under experimentation. What she planned to do with the information was unclear, but Maya was preoccupied with coming back to her senses, rather than trying to get to the bottom of the doctor’s plans.

When Wade reached the roof of the parking garage, he dropped to his knees. There was nothing. No Maya, no captor, no rescue to be had. Swallowing a sob, he picked himself up to search for what could have misled him and Weasel. It wasn’t long before he almost kicked a small cardboard box near the outlet for the ventilation system. Opening it provided him with Maya’s phone, safe and sound. Attached to it was a note that read: _Stop looking, she is fine._

He dropped the box and punted it off the roof, yelling, “FUCK!”

There was a faint reply from Weasel down below. “You need me to come up there?”

Wade gripped the phone tightly and leaned over the edge of the roof. “No, just start the car.”

Square one was a wretched place to be.


	18. wade's wacky race

Wade didn’t know where they were going, and he didn’t care. Weasel drove them around while he tried to guess Maya’s password. The note had been crumpled up and tossed in the back seat as soon as he got in the car.

“You don’t know it?”

“No, it’s not like I’m creeping through her texts at night. If she had something to tell me, she would.”

“That’s fair.” He paused to curse at the car in front. “And very healthy.”

“I’m glad you think so.” 

After getting locked out and having five minutes to ruminate on the times he had seen her unlock her phone, Wade tried a few more combinations and finally got through. There were no calls to or from unknown numbers, no texts or dms that seemed out of place, not even a mysterious tweet. Running through the list of people she would have seen during the day, he decided to call each one of her coworkers and wring them of any information they might have.

Just as Millie was about to start up the machine for another round, there was a buzz from her coat pocket. 

“Excuse me, Maya. I never leave a call unanswered.”

There were faint garbled words from the other side, then she frowned. 

“No, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her...No, I’m sure she’s fine.”

More garbled words. 

“Yes, I’ll call you back if I hear anything.”

For the duration of the call, Maya had been struggling and trying to call out, but to no avail. Whatever the machine had done to her had exhausted her to the point of drifting in and out of consciousness. Nevertheless, she managed to choke out a wordless yell just as Dr. Bernard was about to end the call.

The voice on the other end became much louder, sounding almost frantic. 

The doctor huffed in annoyance. “No, I don’t know what that was…”

Maya yelled again, emboldened by the stranger’s reaction. 

Dr. Bernard whipped around and slapped a hand across her mouth, earning her a sharp bite on the finger. Her cry of pain alerted the stranger even further, causing her to exclaim, “That is enough! I will not tolerate being shouted at like this! Goodbye, and do not call me again.”

Maya thrashed around as much as she could with the energy she had left, succumbing in moments to exhaustion despite her best efforts.

Still in the car with Weasel, Wade’s anxiety had managed to skyrocket even higher. 

“Millie! Millie has her man, I heard her screaming!”

Any attempt his friend made to calm him down was fruitless.

“We gotta trace the call somehow, here!” He threw the phone in Weasel’s lap. “You know more about this geek shit than I do, trade seats with me and I’ll drive.”

After a quick switcheroo, Weasel was typing and scrolling furiously on Maya’s phone. Wade had no idea what he was doing on there, but it must have worked because he was soon barreling down the street with a new set of coordinates.

When Maya opened her eyes again, Millie was staring down at her furiously.

“You think you can just yell your head off and ruin everything, don’t you? This is extremely important research that will go to waste if you don’t cooperate. People’s lives are at stake, and I do not have time to deal with your temper tantrums!”

And with that, the machine was back on. Maya was thrown back into that raging sea of blinding pain with no discernible beginning or end. It was eternal, yet only lasted for half a minute. When it was turned off, she let herself be swept away into sleep to maybe fast-forward to a time when she wasn’t strapped to a table with an insane woman.

Waking with a start, she felt hot tears running down her face. No matter how stoic she tried to be, her body betrayed her anguish so willingly. If she could, she would have pounded her fists on the table and then probably Millie. All she could do was weep quietly and grit her teeth to stifle the screams building up in her throat. The lasting pain had slipped into numbness that coated her body and made it that much harder to stay conscious. Her eyelids fluttered and her breathing hitched with the effort while the noise around her faded in and out of her notice.

That noise was Dr. Bernard frantically rushing around to pack up her makeshift lab. Stuffing papers into a bag, collapsing the table and chair, shoving everything into her car. If Maya was more aware of her surroundings, she would have heard the doctor talking hysterically to herself about how she didn’t have enough time, but really who knew how much time she had? What if no one was coming at all? She would still have to go, but that meant leaving the machine behind! That wouldn’t do. She would have to call for someone from the Workshop to pick it up later, but first she needed to get the rest of her things and her patient into the car and get out of there.

Maya rolled her head from side to side, trying to bring back some feeling to her overloaded nerves. It didn’t do much except prompt Millie to shout at her to stop from where she was loading the trunk of her car. Well, if she could do nothing else, at least she could annoy her captor. Maya thrashed around harder, shaking the table until it squeaked so shrilly that she had to bite down on her tongue to endure the noise. The doctor shouted some more until it became clear that it was getting nowhere. Huffing in indignation, she walked over to the table and dragged it unceremoniously to her car.

Flying through backstreets, Wade followed Weasel’s directions to a nondescript building in the back of an empty parking lot. He didn’t know what the building was for, nor did he care. It was fairly small and seemed unguarded, and that was all that crossed his mind as he flung the car door open and sprinted full tilt into the door, breaking through it without stopping to try the handle. Splinters flying, scratching his face and hands, he disregarded everything but the adrenaline propelling his body faster than it ever had. The long hallway in front of him was left behind for a room, another hallway, another room, and finally the garage. 

“Maya?! Baby, I’m here!”

No response. There was a large machine near the middle of the room that gave no sign of life. It might have been there a day or many more. He paid it no mind as he ran toward the exit, where a large gray car was speeding away, tires screeching.

“FUCK! NO!”

He roared and ran after it, yelling expletives and Weasel’s name, hoping that his friend would catch up with him. As soon as he sprinted past his friend's field of vision, his car sped after him so fast the tires smoked. When it caught up, Weasel stomped on the brakes, then drove even faster after Wade had flung himself inside. 

Pushing the limits on how fast the car could go, they weaved around buildings and ran over curbs trying to get to the gray car. It was ever farther ahead no matter how many red lights they ran or other vehicles they cut off. 

Just as they were about to get on the highway, Weasel called to Wade, who was leaning out of the window with a gun trained on the gray car’s back tires. “There should be police lights in the back somewhere, just stick them up here.” He tapped the plastic covering the overhead light.

“You didn’t think of that before we started breaking laws?”

“Obviously not!”

He took the shot and cursed in triumph when the gray car swerved and sparked at the exposed rim. The lights were just where Weasel had said they would be in the box they came in, and he turned them on with a wince as the brightness smacked him upside the head with white spots that danced in his vision. It cleared up easily enough, and then he was back to hanging out the window with a bullet waiting to meet the gray car’s other back tire.

Inside of the gray car, Maya jumped as much as she could within restraints as a loud pop sounded from behind and the world outside the windows blurred as Millie quickly righted the car and kept driving. 

“Stop the car you idiot! They’re gonna make us crash!” Her words were slightly slurred, but the ability to speak was a relief in and of itself.

Internally, she rejoiced at the high possibility of her boyfriend being in the other car. She couldn’t see out of the back windshield, just the side window she was facing from the way the table had been positioned horizontally to fit in the car. 

Millie didn’t respond, just let out a shriek of frustration and sent the car careening across three lanes of traffic to take the nearest exit. Everything slid to one side, including Maya, earning her a few bumps that would surely turn into bruises. 

“What the hell are you doing? You’re going to get us killed!”

All she got was a harsh “Shut up!” through gritted teeth. 

Weasel took the same exit just seconds after and switched lanes so that he could put Wade’s window right next to the gray car's drivers side. Dr. Bernard had taken Maya and done god knows what to her, and she had to pay. He shot through his window into hers with a bang and a burst of blood. Urged on by his friend, Weasel side-slammed the gray car off the road into the trees. He followed after it and pounded the brake into the floor to stop right next to where the front of the gray car had made contact with a large tree. Fortunately, the back was unharmed, and Wade threw himself toward it.

Wrenching the hatchback open, he couldn’t help but laugh in relief as Maya grinned at him from inside.

“I wondered how long it would take you!”

A huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and all he could do was throw his arms around her and breathe her in.

“I love you too, honey, but you could you get me out of this before-”

He cut her off with a kiss and pulled away to undo the restraints around her wrists and ankles. 

Finally free, she wrapped herself around him and let him carry her to Weasel’s car and slide both of them into the back seat. It was only a second before he joined them after checking on Millie.

“Hi, Weasel.”

“Hey, Maya.”

"Is she dead?"

"Yep."

He started the car and waited a minute to let other cars pass before reversing back onto the road to take them back home. The gray car was left behind with a cooling corpse in the front seat.


	19. what now?

"You sure you don't wanna crash on the sofa for a while?"

Weasel shrugged from where he remained inside his car. "Yeah, I'm good. Got some risotto in the fridge I'd like to get back to."

Wade rubbed the back of his head and glanced to the doorway of his home where his girlfriend was waiting for him. 

"Alright dude, take care."

"Keep me updated on all the crazy shit you keep getting yourself into."

It felt so good to laugh after these past few days. "Sure, man. I will."

After seeing him off, Wade went into the house to where Maya had relocated to the sofa. As soon as he sat down, her head was in his lap.

"What happens now?"

Honestly, he didn't know. This wasn't some job he took to let off steam and get paid, the most important person in his life had been kidnapped and held hostage by someone she thought she could trust. 

"I don't think there's a right answer to that. I guess…I don't know. For now, let's just go to bed and figure things out tomorrow."

She sighed and curled her fingers around his. "Okay."

The next morning, Maya managed to sleep in a little more than usual and woke up to Wade making breakfast.

"Do I smell waffles?"

Her sweet sleepy voice made him smile and pull her in for a kiss on the forehead.

"Yep. All you can eat."

Sitting at the table, she watched him move around the kitchen with a fond look on her face. Thinking of the day before soured it, however, and he noticed.

"You're safe now, baby. I promise."

"I know…" She trailed off, not sure how to put her tangled emotions into words.

Wade set a full plate down in front of her and massaged her shoulders. "You wanna talk about it?"

"After we eat." It smelled amazing, and her stomach growled as if to emphasize her point.

It was delicious, as was just about everything he cooked for her, and she was happy to remind him of that. She loved the way her compliments made the tips of his ears go pink.

Full and satisfied, Maya took Wade's hand and led him to the sofa so they could stretch out like cats in a patch of sun. 

"I want to tell you what happened, but I don't really know where to start."

He ran his fingers through her hair, humming in thought. "Did she say why she took you?"

She huffed out a quiet laugh. "I mostly ignored her, but essentially, she wanted to experiment on me because the research was going too slowly."

Grunting in dissatisfaction, he was eager to change topics. "Was she working on her own?"

Maya was quiet for too long.

"Who was she working with, baby?"

"The people who hurt you." The words came out in a whisper, sad and sorry.

He heaved a sigh and kissed the top of her head. "Should've known. How many evil geneticists are there in New York? Figures they'd get together and create a monopoly over the freak industry."

Voice still small, but more persistent, she clutched at his hand. "You're not a freak."

Knowing he would never win that argument, he let it go. "Was there anyone specific?"

"She mentioned there being a new boss. Dunno if they had anything to do with her though."

"Yeah, I thought I kinda took care of things by offing the last guy they had in charge. Too bad they found a new mastermind."

Maya sat up to look at him, incredulous. "What? You killed the last boss?"

He could have sworn he told her about that. He must have been too chicken to talk about it. 

"Yeah, some douchebag named Francis. Real piece of work, that guy. Made all Brits look bad, at least for me, personally."

Her eyes just kept growing wider and wider. "Francis? And he's British? Oh my god…" 

Wade didn't like the way she backed up and covered her face with her hands.

"Did you know this guy?"

She was on the verge of tears, and he didn't know what to do. As he reached out to her, she took a shaky breath and tried to speak, though she got a little choked up.

"It's gotta be him. It  _ has  _ to be."

"Who?"

Maya kept her face hidden, but leaned forward to lay on his chest as tears began to spill down her cheeks onto his shirt. 

" _ Adam. _ " Sobbing the word out, she couldn't say much more. 

That was a punch to the gut for both of them. What a twist of fate. 

"Oh shit."

Through her tears, she said, "He never went by his first name, but he told me what it was. I-I never thought…"

Holding her close, he rubbed her back and whispered comforting words until she could speak again.

"He was so broken up after everything with Jakey...but I never thought he could be a part of something like that!"

Her breaths were coming out short and shaky, and Wade could feel her trembling.

"He's gone, baby. He can't hurt anyone anymore."

They sat and soaked in the heavy emotions of the moment until Maya could breathe again.

"I'm sorry." 

His heart hurt to hear her say it. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

She sniffled and curled into him. He thought she might have fallen asleep by the time she spoke again. "Can we go see him? Jacob?"

"Sure, sweetheart. You want to go now or later?"

"Now…"

Wade scooped her up without another thought and carried her to the front door. They went out to the car without saying anything, but there was no need to. Maya put the directions to the cemetery into her phone and let it speak for them.

They sat on the grass by his headstone, leaning against each other while she cried for her son. When those tears had dried, she wept for the loss of Adam. Not his death, but his devolution into the monster who had hurt so many. Who had hurt Wade. 

They spent a little over an hour there. The sun was warm on their faces, and despite the sorrow hanging over them, the day was beautiful. There were only a few other people at the cemetery and they kept to themselves. A tree dangled its branches over them, dropping a leaf here and there when the wind blew. It was quiet. 

After Maya had her time with the memories of her boys, they went back home. The house was quiet too, but not in the same way. Wade could feel it, and he was sure she could too. He made lunch and wrapped up what she couldn’t eat to save for later. She was still in a haze, and went to take a nap while he remained in the kitchen to text Weasel.

_ “You sitting down?” _

_ “I am now. You guys okay?” _

_ “We’re safe, but we got big news and Maya’s taking it pretty hard.” _

He took a second to rub a hand over his face and take a breath. 

_ “Remember Francis?” _

_ “How could I not?” _

_ “Well we got a visit from the ghost of dipshits past. He’s the boyfriend she had a kid with.” _

_ “Adam? Holy shit.” _

He had to put the phone down for a second and get something to drink. Somehow, telling someone made it feel more real. He paused at the bottle of whiskey sitting behind the paper plates, but decided against it and grabbed a soda from the fridge. Maya needed him, and so he was better off staying sober.

_ “Too bad you can’t kill him again.” _

_ “Probably could if I ask the right person. Not worth it though.” _

_ “I gotta go. Text me later if you need to.” _

_ “Thanks man.” _

Wade crept into the bedroom and carefully laid down next to Maya. She was sound asleep, and made no protest to having his arms wrap around her. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off, but the voices in his head wouldn’t shut up about Francis, or Adam, or whoever he was. Maya had loved him. Maya...he would give anything just to see her smile...she had loved the man he hated most. She still did, now that Francis was dead and he had claimed the number one spot. He should talk to her, he knew, but that could wait until she wasn’t sleeping peacefully in his arms.


End file.
